Wow, it’s October already? How time flies when you’re not a kid…
Since it’s now definitely October, we’re busy planning festive activities like our annual visit to the pumpkin patch and a trip to our local “zoo” for their annual haunted train ride. I use the term “zoo” loosely because although I love the place, Austin’s zoo is really more of an animal sanctuary. It’s a more intimate setting and the kids get to see the animals at night. If you’re local, check out the Austin Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo.
There are so many activities to do this time of year and since it just hit me like a haunted train that it’s October and time to plan fun fall activities, I went looking through our photo albums for some inspiration. That’s when I remembered about this gem!
These photos work best on am infant who can sit. Cora is 9 months old here. During our second annual trip to the pumpkin patch, I bought an extra, large pumpkin just for these photos. You may luck out and find one big enough without a trip to the farm, but we love making the trip a part of our annual traditions. With the girl’s “help”, I gutted this pumpkin and cut two log holes. While Jason roasted the seeds, we went out back and had some fun.
I’m not a professional photographer, but I have learned my way around a camera – much more on how you can, too, below. I’m currently using a Canon T2i (the T5i is the latest as of this post) which is a very common camera. I did not purchase the “kit” lens with it. The best recommendation that I can make us to learn about lenses because that is what will make an everyday camera perform like a pro.
These are the lenses that I recommend (available for several camera brands/models):
- Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 SLD Aspherical DC Optical Stabilized (OS) Lens with Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) (my every day lens)
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
(amazing for portraits)
Here are some links I recommend for learning to use your camera:
- Photography Tutorial: A Quick Guide to Understanding Your DLSR Camera
- 13 Things Your Camera Wish You Knew
My general advice for photographing kids:
- Don’t use the flash. If you get the right lens & settings, you don’t need to.
- Get the best natural light you can.
- Outdoors is best, especially in indirect light (like on a cloudy day, dawn, or dusk).
- When indoors, open up the blinds & turn on the lights.
- Photograph kids in their natural environment. The best photos we have are happy accidents. We dressed them up how we wanted, put then in a nice setting, and went with it.
- Embrace the candid shots.
- Limit set-up/posed shots. Just pick one or two to try, but don’t force it. Bribery may be necessary.
- Rapid Shoot. They are digital photos that take up no physical space in your life and can be deleted easily. Clear off the memory card and go nuts. Then pick your favorite and delete the rest later on the computer. You may feel ridiculous at first, but the results are worth it and you’ll get used to it.
Now, the question is… can we find two JUMBO pumpkins do this again this year with two 25-30lb 2-ish-year-olds?!
