Thread: Have a stranger shoot Thursday!

I just talked to a facebook friend of mine and she wants me to photograph her girls next Thursday. They are 7 and 11 years old. I have no experience with that age and with strangers kids. Her and I are just high school class mates but don't ever really talk so it's pretty much close to being strangers I am excited but waaay nervous too! If you have any tips I would appreciate it! I am really loving practicing on other people though. I just hope I get a few good shots to show her. I told her I'm just skill building at the moment so to not expect really pro results. I asked her what she wanted and she basically just wants some pictures of her girls and maybe a few with her in them with her girls. I have this whole week to prepare so if you have any tips or something that would be super!

~L

That's a great opportunity Loida. I know you'll do good. You might want to suggest to the mom what type of clothing they should be wearing, tell her no lettering, etc. on the shirt/dress. I dunno if you prefer a certain color - but I would definitely have them avoid wearing white, just my preference.

If you have any props you want to incorporate that would be good too, a chair, lollipop, bubble.

Can't wait to see pictures!

Oh props! I have absolutely no props at the moment. I need to collect some I think! I guess I'll just use whatever is available around her house. I told her on the phone to choose something nice she wants them to wear like a favorite outfit or some sort of dress up clothes or something. She said she would think about what she could put on them. I could probably go buy some sort of silk flowers from the store. I wonder what other kinds of things 7 and 11 year old girls like?

You are shooting indoors?

probably outdoors in her yard. maybe a few indoors but i'll probably use my speedlight then if there isn't enough light and bounce the flash from somewhere. I also have a diffuser now which might help.


i told DH my next big purchase is going to be a shoot through umbrella but I also need a new speedlight too since I only just have the 430ex.

I would talk with the mom and find out a little about each girl. I always chat with the mom's before a session so I don't go in "blind". One nice thing with them being a bit older is that they will more than likely not have issues staying in place. Do you have any consignment shops or thrift stores that you could go to? You could always look for an old chair to use as a prop. I have an old chair (it's really a mess) that I take to almost every session. Sometimes it just helps to give them a place to sit and relax. Good luck... I'm sure you'll do just fine. Can't wait to see them!!!

Oh good idea I think I'll head over to the thrift store and see what I can find! It will be nice just to have it for next year as well.

I talked to the mom a little on the phone. She told me her girls love to be photographed. That's basically all I got but I'm willing to stay there a couple of hours and let them get used to me.

Woo Hoo, Loida!! You're going to be great, don't worry My favorite shots of this age group would be natural interaction shots....like them holding hands walking down a path or laughing together. Can't think of anything particular to use as a prop, but I'm sure you'll find something interesting.

I've got something very similar on Monday. My friend from high school is coming over with her 6 month old so I can do some product photography for my friend's Etsy store. My friend starting to get into the newborn/infant prop business and she's got some cute hats for me to photograph for her store. I've never shot a baby this young, so I'm going to need to do some MAJOR research!

jump over to flickr and search for 'preteen siblings' or something like that.

I also like to look through google images for ideas.

I'm sure you're gonna do great and it should be so much fun with willing models!

Best,
GiGi