This reminded me so much of this picture taken six months ago.
In just half a year, she has not just learned to walk but also learned to run. (She imitates her brother and says, “One, two, three…GO!” before taking off running.) She has also learned how much there is to see. Some kids want their mom or dad close by when they are out and about – not this little girl. When she sees something she wants to explore, she’s off without looking back.
We planned to be outside on this morning, but it rained and rained. We were already prepared to be out of the house for a few hours and I wasn’t going to just go home. (Everyone had their shoes on and had been to the bathroom!) We headed to the museum. I’ve got my mind on water photos, so after we’d seen all we wanted to see inside, we went outside to this fountain.
Technically:
Here’s the photo straight out of the camera:
I edited it in Lightroom. When I first got my DSLR, I didn’t understand why editing was so important. Some photos are good straight out of the camera. Other photos need a little coaxing to be their best. (Kind of like some kids I know.)
At dinner Atticus says, “Whoever makes the scariest face wins!” Then the competition begins for who face is scariest. I didn’t want to let this ritual go unrecorded. Be prepared to be scared…
(She really is trying to scare you.)
Technically…
All of these photos were taken with my 100mm lens at f/3.2. Why 100mm? My 50mm is broken and I haven’t sent it off for a repair yet. (Have you ever gone to the post office or Fed Ex with four kids?) I am missing my 50 but being pushed to use this lens more is helping me understand its strengths and weaknesses.
You don’t have to be around kids very long to realize how much of the day is not spent smiling.
But listen to us, “Hey honey! Smile!” It doesn’t take long before they anticipate your prompt, look up at you “smiling,” and hope then you leave them to their business.
What if we didn’t ask for smiles?
What if we even tried to capture a moment filled with sadness?
This particular moment of sadness was short lived. Most of them are with small children. Tears are frequent but pass like a summer storm. The time on the photo above is 11:47 AM. At 11:49, he was all better.
This week, look for moments that are full of emotion. If you are around children, there will be many. If they need you to talk to them and give them a hug, put down your camera. But if it can wait a second, take a picture.
Try It: Show Some Emotion.
Share your photos here.
This is the song that plays in my head when I think about this… (You have to have Spotify to hear this. It’s super cool and free.)