Practice = Lessons Learned…

I’ve had it stuck in my head for awhile that I wanted to take some pictures of Kaden in the hay, sitting on our green chair (that has wonderful patina), wrapped in an antique quilt.  My mom provided the quilt and the time finally presented itself for me to put the plan in motion.  It was a challenge.  And makes me really wonder how professional photographers get the shots that they do. 

Because quite frankly, it is really difficult to put a mobile baby on a chair and expect him to stay there.  Lesson Learned. Let alone prop him next to a bunch of hay and expect him not to become obsessed with grabbing and eating it.  Lesson Learned.

Matt was kind of helping me accomplish this shoot by dancing behind me, desperately attempting to get Kaden to actually LOOK at the camera. 

After I took some images in the shade, we moved to the edge of the hayfield to get some with sunflare and it was helpful to place a more cooperative and stable subject (ie. Cooper) on the chair first to set my exposure.  Lesson Learned. 

         

Trying to shoot and move as fast as I could, I quickly moved to another spot before the lighting changed … dragging a chair, a growingly-uncooperative husband/assistant and carrying a growingly-fidgety baby.

And there was just more of the same from the other 2 locations – Kaden being more interested in eating hay than looking at me.  I needed some obnoxious squeeky toys, I guess.  Lesson Learned.

 

This was the final image I got… before Kaden took a dive off of the chair into the hay. 

Now I know it is very important to have my assistant standing just slightly out of the frame – within grabbing distance of the baby. 

Don’t worry… Lesson Learned. 

(All was well though, because Cooper rushed over to me and his very sad baby-brother, and hugged onto both of us and prayed for Kaden.  A sweet ending to an otherwise lesson-filled practice shoot.)