Category Archives: Kids & Families
Indiana Family Photographer: The Claytons
Sometimes, you meet a group of people and you connect. You set up the shot, point the lens, and you attempt to capture what is authentic about your subject. You try to get the lighting right, set your aperture, ISO, and white balance… and then you do what you can to make your subject(s) comfortable enough to show you what is authentic to them. When it happens, as a photographer, you feel a connection to the people you are capturing. It’s as if they are inviting you into their world and showing you who they are. And that’s a space that Ginny and I try to get to with the people we capture. You want to live in that space on a photoshoot because that’s where you connect with people. For us, it’s special when you can connect and find authenticity among those you are photographing. It makes the experience special.
We had a special experience with the Clayton family. We went out to shoot a family group shot and we ended up staying awhile, visiting, and shooting off random candid shots. It was a great session. In that short hour and a half, we felt connected to this group of people who had traveled from Colorado to spend a family vacation on Lake Max, a place they had never been. Fortunately, we caught up with them at the root beer stand a short while later, as they had the same idea for lunch that we did. We loaned them our boat for the remainder of the week and kept in touch. I worried about them the way I do lifelong friends when the big storm of Friday hit Culver. At the end of the week, the kids left us homemade thank you cards and I saw them off on their travels home. For awhile, I almost forgot that we were their photographers for that short session and not people we had known much longer.
I hope the pictures reflect how special this family is, as they truly made these two photographers rethink what it is to be fortunate enough to experience connections through our cameras.
John & Cassie’s Family Shoot
Late in the Fall, Cassie Schuldt contacted us about taking pictures of her, her sweet daughter, and her boyfriend John. We spent a couple of hours out at their property taking photos. It was one of the funnest shoots we’ve done. We had a great setting for pictures and some fun personalities, as you’ll see in the pictures. Following are a few from the batch.
Decker Family Photo Session
Recently, Ginny and I photographed the Decker family in Plymouth, IN. The kids were fantastic to work with and had great ideas. We enjoyed the outing. Ginny really bonded with the kids and says she’d love to follow their lives with photos. She also said she’d hire them to consult with other families on how to do a photoshoot.
Family Photo Session: Shiller Family
This sumer, we had the chance to get pictures of some Woodcrafters who are the sons and daughter of a Culver Military Academy graduate who was at Culver when we were. These three kids were an absolute blast to work with, as they had so many ideas for shots. And, like siblings that age, they were funny about who stood next to whom and who got to come up with the next shot, and so on. Ginny and I enjoyed working with them.
Family Photo Session: Elliot Family
This past summer, we met up with one of our favorite Culver families, the Elliots. Last time we worked with them, we took daughter Kirstin’s senior photos. We were a little rushed to get in some family shots, but we managed. We walked along the lake on Culver Academies campus to get the pictures.
Indiana Sports Photographer: St. Louis Lady Blues
I’m sorry if the title for this blog is confusing. I’m an Indiana-based photographer who was asked to do the team photos for a St. Louis based hockey team. But… I did this while the team was in Indiana playing a U12 hockey tournament at Culver Academies.
The St. Louis Lady Blues U12 AAA Hockey Team has kids that participate from six different states. Because of this, the girls do not practice together. Additionally, all the girls belong to local teams in their own home towns and often have to miss games. Because of this, the 13 girls almost never play together. Given that the season is almost over and everyone was able to attend the Culver tournament, they decided it was time for a team photo and individual shots of the players.
With limited time on the ice, we rushed through and managed to take three seperate sets of photos. We took team photos (players and then players with the coaches), individual shots, followed by individual action shots where the kids sprayed ice as I photographed them. Considering that each set required moving lights, backdrops, and getting the kids posed, I am surprised that we got through it and things turned out as well as they did.
I’ve posted some photos here. Other are located under the Lady Blues Team photos at:
http://www.culverphotos.com/2011_u12
Michigan Sports Photography: Nieces and Nephews Basketball
A couple of weeks ago, Ginny and I traveled to Monroe, Michigan to watch and shoot our niece and nephew play basketball. The kids are young, but they actually had a great grasp of the game and were a lot of fun to watch. All of the kids played well and had a lot of fun. The gym was quite dark compared to high school venues, but with a few adjustments, I was able to get some great shots. If anyone is curious, our niece and nephew are easy to pick out in the photos as they are the tall, blonde kids on the St. Mike’s teams. They are really great kids… and we discovered, they are pretty good at basketball.
I’ve posted some photos here. Others are located at:
Boy’s game- http://www.culverphotos.com/1_22_11_boysbasketball
Girl’s game- http://www.culverphotos.com/1_22_11girlsbasketball
Plymouth Children’s Photographer: Mollie’s 1st Birthday
Before Ginny and I left for our respective trips this past week, we had the opportunity to photograph one of our favorite subjects–Mollie. We took newborn pictures of Mollie a year ago and were thrilled to see her a year later. Mollie is a sweet child who is shy, funny, courious, sweet, and full of love for her parents. We thought it was really neat that Mollie’s mom brought along a chair that her parents had given her on her first birthday, so that we can photograph Mollie and the chair that is now hers. What a great thing for Mollie to pass down to the next generation.
Indiana Portrait Photographer: 60th Anniversary
Last weekend, Ginny and I attended a family reunion to celebrate 60 years of marriage for the Roses. Mr. and Mrs. Rose were surrounded by their children, some of the people who stood up for them at their wedding, and several grand children and great grandchildren. We did some group shots, and then took some shots of the kids as they played. At one point, while I was taking a group shot of the children of the Roses, some of the great grandchildren made their way over to a set of chairs we had moved. One of the relatives yelled, “Get that shot.” I turned the camera just in time, as they started to climb out of the chairs just as quickly as they got into them. It was really funny to watch the kids follow each other from one setting to another. Ginny caught several shots of them playing in the sanbox and on the swing set. Some of the kids played in woods where they climed into trees and chased each other.
We had a great time photographing this family, as we witnessed how special it is when families get together to celebrate a long marriage. Ginny commented that it was nice that all of the families can get together, and one of the great grand kids said, “We do it all the time.” It’s unusual to see such large families getting together with such busy schedules, so we felt we were part of something special.
Indiana Children’s Photography: Eliza and Avery
On Friday, Ginny and I shot two of our favorite subjects: Eliza and Avery. These sisters are beautiful, full of energy, and a lot of fun to hang with behind a camera. Their mom Wendy had them dressed in sun dresses given our high 70s weather. She also staged a picnic on Culver Academies’ campus in front of the lake. The girls were so interested in the nearby rock, lake, and field that they didn’t want much to do with the picnic area we set up, but we did manage to get some keepers. We had a great time capturing them as they played, each in their own world, and a few times with each other. Eliza liked the bright flowers and rock most, but she was cooperative when we asked her to follow Avery, so that we could get both in the same shot. Avery liked running in the grass and by the lake and in her bare feet, she was adorable discovering the open spaces around her. We often say that kids make the best subjects. In these pictures, you can see why. These girls are a joy to be around and we look forward to every shoot with them.
