Casual Photo Shoots

One of my hobbies is photography.  I even won a ribbon and cash prize at an art show once!  I was so excited!  My friend, Brenda, said that if she'd have know how much fun it would be to watch me, she would have paid my entry fee! 

I take pictures of lots of things: buildings, trees, plants, nature and sometimes even people.  People are hard!  To pose people, you have to be comfortable telling people how to move and hope they stay still!  Recently, I've had the opportunity to shoot a couple of sessions that weren't planned.

The first was a session with a friend.  We started out with the typical posed shots.   I just wasn't feeling it and asked her to just start moving.  And move she did!  It was beautiful!  The shots showed her delightful personality and were so natural.  I'd love to post one here, but I haven't asked her permission so it just wouldn't be right.

The second was an impromptu session with my five-year-old grandson.   We were attempting to take pictures of birds outside the window when I turned the camera on him.  He had so much fun posing and making faces at the camera!  The results are absolutely wonderful!   Here is a sample:

You can see the rest of the photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pearlcabin/

These were taken using a Canon XSi with the 18-15mm lens that came with the camera.  I used the auto/no flash setting.  I took these photos in my living room with natural light.  They are straight out of the camera -  not edited or cropped.  I love being able to work without a flash - I was able to get close to his face without the flash hurting his eyes. 

These two shoots were so much fun, I really want to work with more people.  I may have just found my method for photographing people successfully!