I have 10,000 beach photos to go through, but excuse me as I take a moment and stand up on my tiny little box in my tiny little house, and preach for a minute.
stop reading here, and just enjoy the adorable ballerina, if you don't like being preached to.
My camera is always on the counter/table/dresser--loaded and ready to go.
(bonus of having a tiny house--the camera is always close)
I keep it out so I can quickly grab a photo without the kids even knowing, and photo taking then won't get in the way of day-to-day activities.
I HATE posed pictures.
You know, the kind where kids are wearing uncomfortable matchy matchy clothes, standing/sitting/lying in an awkward position, and holding a prop that makes no sense for them to be holding.
(and don't even get me started on putting babies in/on things they don't belong in/on)
This is my girl on her first day of ballet.
She was "tying" her shoes.
It was adorable.
I couldn't resist it, and had to act fast--this one is all full of cheesy smiles and princess head tilts when the camera comes out.
"Technically" speaking, there are most likely 107 things wrong with this photo.
But I have never been one for technicalities, and throw them into the hot September wind
(along with props and uncomfortable clothing.)
All I cared about was a quick shot of a little girl getting ready for her first day of dance.
And I think I got that.
It's little moments like this that I want to remember most.
Moments in our little lives that we will some day look back on as our favorites.
49 comments:
yes, agreed. totally agreed. thank you for posting this! everyday moments are THE best photos.
hahaha oh man-those links. glad i will be having a new babe soon and she will be only having her picture taken on an old quilt made by her great grandma-because thats what she will lay on everyday!
and i cant get enough of little ballerinas.. .seriously cant wait for these days for my girls. so fun. and this light and picture is just perfect-im a mama too so see what your looking at :)
hahahaha the baby in the gumball jar. so funny.
you take gorgeous photos, sheena, so i'm picking up what you're putting down here! candid photos are the best.
oh my goooodness! that gumball picture is so awkward.. i saw one the other day where the newborn baby was in a large bowl of fruit loop cereal.
Looove that picture of your little ballerina though.. now THATS a memory.
How in the world does one even manage to put a baby in a jar?! Ridiculous!
The shot of your little ballerina is precious. I started ballet when I was three, and just loved it. And I remember trying to tie those little strings on my ballet flats. It never worked...
Oh my goodness. The baby in the jar,are you kidding me? Real life moments are,well...there's just no comparison. And those shots will be so much more special when you get older too. Imagine the parents looking back in 30 years at the photos with their children, "And here you are in a glass jar full of gumballs..." Haha!
YES, YES, YES! I am so glad someone said it. I've seen some really ridiculous baby pictures on Pinterest lately and I feel so bad for the poor babies. Your photo is gorgeous. Just the way it should be.
hahaha - way to post the WEIRDEST baby in / on strange things photos! i definitely agree that candid is best, but some of the ones out there where baby is in say, a basket aren't that creepy, are they?
I absolutely love this. What a sweet and precious moment that you saved. I've danced ballet for about seven years, and I absolutely love the art form.
ps. totally with you regarding the props. good grief. those poor babies.
Thank you! I'm so relieved to know that I'm not the only one driven crazy by those kinds of baby photos.
preach on, sister! I thought I was alone in my dislike of propped baby photos. So glad to hear you agree. I think your photos always capture the moment so beautifully.
Yes! Exactly! Thank you for saying something. I get so creeped out by some of the baby photos I've been seeing lately. And the "gumballs" one you linked to just takes the cake. I know everyone has a different style but what!?!
I think you should embrace the propped baby photos. Think of all the awesome places you could put a baby: on a ladder, on a pizza, in an underwear drawer, the roof. I mean, the possibilities are endless!
The other night I had a jimmy johns sandwich, I could have put my baby on that. Now, I feel as though I have missed an opportunity.
Amen, amen, amen and AMEN!!!! I am not usually an exclamation point abuser but this post deserves every one. I am so tired of these overly contrived photos. Nothing will take you back to the days of newborn like seeing your baby in a gumball jar. Ahh!
ok, the baby in the gumball jar. that's creepy, right?
I LOVE your style of photography. I also hate posed photos & absolutely love kandid, but it takes a certain photographer to really capture the essence of those moments -- they are the most cherished though!
I wish I had known you when we lived in SLC. I would have tried to snag you for our wedding.
love the ballerina shot...that is what memories are made of...not gumballs (yikes...can i join you on your soapbox)
AGREED! (excuse my yelling) It's a pet peeve of mine when "photographers" use props or overexposure to counter act lack of ability/talent or bad lighting. Ugh. I've never been one for posed shots, props or any other such nonsense. I always say that portraits of children should be taken in their element - outside, doing every day tasks, etc. You capture so much more of their personality that way. I keep my camera close by for the same reasons :)
...there is a floating baby head in that jar of gumballs.
i 800% agree with you and will fully support your anti-baby-prop movement!
your little ballerina is the cutest!
Haha. Baby Gumball is sooo weird! Can you believe the compliments that the photographer was getting on the facebook page?
You MUST check out the book "Awkward Family Photos". They have it at Urban Outfitters. Hysterical. And filled with these types of photos...and worse!
Love your ballerina shot :)
I totally agree. That and dressing kids up in totally ridiculous outfits that they would never wear in real life. So annoying. I'm a fan of simple, classic, candid, and natural.
this is such a tender, honest, raw moment and I congratulate you for your ability to capture it!
This shot is gorgeous and I completely agree with your stance on baby photos. That baby does not want to be on a guitar! My friend has these really weird baby photos where the babies were wearing flower costumes and was actually quite creepy, not cute.
Love this photo. I love candid shots, especially in black and white!
As I've said in the past, you need to do a photography book! Or something to get your photos way out there. I love them.
that gumball picture was awful! my jaw literally dropped. that poor child! oh my and then i clicked on that other link. how did that poor baby not fall off!? the things parents do for the sake of a seemingly good picture.
that is seriously child abuse.
i'm going to take it one step further:
families/children/swaddled up babies laying/sitting/standing in the middle of railroad tracks.
am i the only one that's mortified by this?
ps
LOVE this ballerina picture.
what were your camera settings for this shot?
Beautiful!!!
Being a fan of the most of natural photography, I don't understand all these contrived props and babies in weird places. Aside from being uncomfortable, aren't they maybe just a little dangerous, too? If someone said to me "Oooh, I'm thinking of putting your baby in a jar and then piling gumballs on top of her" my response would be "Ummmm... not so much."
That's a beautiful (and natural) shot of your little ballerina.
I've always hated posed pictures! As a kid, my dad would snap more pictures than anyone I'd know, and usually he'd just make us stop what we're doing, look at the camera, and grin. He'd be lucky if more than two photos of the lot of 250+ had real, genuine smiles.
Even now, taking photos (though not even close to professionally... just point-and-shoot!) I take candid photos more often than not!
This photo of yours is adorable! A+
I'm a photo editor at Parenting Magazine and I just wanted to let you know that last night at the end of the work day I showed some coworkers that link and we were literally almost crying from laughing so hard from some of the images. Especially the gum-ball and mermaid (?!)....and I see a LOT of pictures of kids. Please may I never have to take any like that.
I completely agree, that gumball pic was so disturbing to me!
lovely, lovely photo of your girl.
i agree with your thoughts on posed babies. oddddd.
I love your pics of your kids! They always seem so true to life. Those links...who would put their baby in such uncomfortable situations??
that photo is perfect. way to capture the moment. your pics are awesome, as usual.
I think you could be the leader of a movement against these crazy newborn shots. I will join you. Also may I say that I noticed a photo editor at Parenting Magazine reads your blog... and that maybe you are a teensy bit good at photography. :) And last of all I can't tell you how much I LOVE this photo of her, too! It's so beautiful. Seriously made me want to drop everything, put Makenzie's hair in a little bun, throw a ballerina suit on her, and have the same moment. haha Kidding, but I really do love it.
Hopefully she doesn't realize you linked to her page :( Beautiful picture though.
Oh my gosh! I am so glad someone finally posted something about those ridiculous baby photos! I hate them, they look so unnatural. I will never do that to my little babies. And this photo is great. Enlarge it and frame it. :)
love love looove this post. totally agree with you, 150%. if there *have* to be poses, they belong in photoshoots, not everyday moments. thank you so much for posting this!
I'm so glad someone finally said something about this subject. I just don't understand this prop fad. It's weird. It's tacky. If I see another baby in an oversized coffee mug or humping an instrument I just might throw up.
This is a timeless image. Love it. xoxo
i love your photography. who cares/knows anything about "technically." on a side note, thank you (but not thank you) for introducing me to creepy-posed-baby-with-inanimate-object-photos.
I totally agree. Those fotos are so wrong!
But yours is so right.
Your pretty ballerina is the sweetest thing ever. You must be so proud of her.
I'm a firm believer that a "propeless" life is a much fuller life. So, naturally, the same goes for photography.
Sheena, I love your photography and always have. I love studying your work, getting ideas, and feeling inspired. I agree with you that I'm TOTALLY not into the new trend of using weird props with babies. I do think it was a little tacky to link to someone's facebook photography page. Do you realize how many of your readers went over and left nasty messages? I swear it's like junior high over there. So sad.
Chrissy Jo I am so sorry you feel this way. Maybe it was tacky of me to single one person out when this is going on all over the place, but I can't stress enough how against this I am. I poke fun at it here, but it really REALLY disturbs me to see these tiny little babes in such awkward photos for the sake of "art". It's a weird fad and I think someday these parents are going to look back and wonder WHAT they were doing!!?
If you (or any other mother) were to come home from a night out to find that the babysitter had put your baby in a jar full of candy I'm guessing you (or any other mother) would call the cops ( I SURE WOULD!) So I don't see why we are so willing to hand our babies over to "photographers' to do something so strange, that would never happen in every day life.
Baby. In. Candy. Jar. Not normal.
As far as any comments being made, I am unaware of that and I'm sorry that it's happening, but I have absolutely no control over what people do and say just because they read something on my blog. I don't think I am the first person to call out someone for shoving babies in jars of candy, and I don't think I'll be the last. Luckily, for some strange reason, people seem to love it, so I'm sure my opinion won't stand in their way. It's just my opinion, on my blog.
I agree that I would call the cops. NEVER happening to my kids.
I agree that it's not your fault that people were leaving nasty messages on her facebook page and that she, as a photographer, is putting herself out there to be scrutinized if she is posting pictures on a public forum.
I also whole heartedly agree that you can most certainly post your opinion on your own blog. I have learned soooo much about food, photography, running... all things that I have then turned around and discussed with my sister. Thank you for sharing your opinions!
I guess I just always feel bad for the underdog, the one getting picked on.
So I do not know you, and this is the only post of yours I have read--a friend at work showed it to me because she knows I HATE the creepy awkward baby pictures. I laughed so hard at this post!!
sheena, I am 100 million percent with you on props with small babies... Unfortunately for myself, I was one of those dummies that followed the link and, weirded out about that baby buried in gum, left a comment without thinking about the person behind all the work.. I am embarrassed that I did that to a fellow photog, and hope nobody else comments negatively on her pics. I wish I hadn't been a mean girl to her, she actually does some amazing newborn work, and I am sure jealous of her setup.... Anyway, I tried to send her a message but couldn't, I hope this teaches us ask to better respect one another's work and preferences, and think before we post... Love your blog! Ps, hi chrissy!
I don't think I could find anything wrong with that photograph-It is so beautiful.
I love your photographs on this blog.
i LOVE this shot!! Great job. I'm SO into underexposed and perfectly imperfect photography at the moment.
I agree about the posed shots - it only takes a minute for their adorableness to turn into cheezy fake grins.
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