Unplanned Moments

     This is one of my favorite shots from a recent portrait shoot I did for some friends. The scene was completely unscripted. I had just finished shooting with one of the other kids on the staircase when I noticed that big brother had found a nice spot to sit and play. I loved the simplicity of the scene. The backlighting from the windows and the leading lines in the hardwood floor give the photo some nice depth. I was shooting with a 50mm lens with an aperture setting of f2.2. The wide aperture gives the image a shallow depth of field, resulting in the soft, blurred foreground and background.  Lighting was from my on-camera speedlight with a bounce diffuser attached.  I would have preferred to set up my off-camera flash with a shoot-though umbrella for this shot, but I knew I would lose the moment if I didn't move quick.
     Often the unplanned shots are the real gems.  We have to keep an eye out for those moments, and be ready to quickly change gears and get the shot.  When working with kids, the great moments never last long.    Many times I have wanted to say "WAIT!  I wasn't ready, now do that cute thing again!..."  By that point it's a missed shot :(  We just have to be ready next time.

Hope you like.
Tim

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