Let’s Be Candid

One of my favorite ways to photograph children is to just let them be children and to capture candid, real moments and real expressions. I will sit a child down somewhere or hand them a toy or prop—even a stick and a piece of moss works!—and just photograph whatever happens. Today’s post features a few such shots from a recent family photo session I did in a local park with a lovely family here on vacation from Kansas City.

#CandidKids

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earl harris photography
Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings
throughout Central Florida.

Little Princess

“Never look back. If Cinderella had picked up her shoe, she never would have become a princess.”
–Unknown

Nikon D700, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/400th sec., 170 mm

Nikon D700, ISO 200, f/6.3 at 1/320th sec., 140 mm

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Private appointments available

earl harris photography
Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings
throughout Central Florida.

Confidence, Strength and Beauty

“Build your confidence by using your strengths. Do not try to be like other people. You have your own talents and you have that one thing you are really good at that no one else can do. Embrace your individuality and show the world just how great you can be.”
—Dr Anil Kr Sinha

“Tayler”, Nikon D700, ISO 200, f/8 at 1/50th sec., 145mm

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Private appointments available

earl harris photography

Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings throughout Central Florida.

Samantha

“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.”
― Sam Levenson

“Samantha”, Nikon D800, ISO 100, f/5.6 at 1/125th sec., 145mm

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Private appointments available

Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings throughout Central Florida.

Casual Portrait: Reverend Shirley

“Tell people how much I love them.
Feed my sheep.
Pour out my love on them.”
― Lisa Bedrick, Poems about Life, Love and God

I photographed Rev. Shirley recently, as she briefly relaxed following a marriage celebration she officiated. She also leads the grief counseling group I attend. Rev. Shirley inspires me with her positivity, humor and the love she so generously shares with others. I am pleased to share her photograph.

Reverend Shirley

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Private appointments available

Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings throughout Central Florida.

Another Take on Madison

It was quite apparent from skyrocketing visit stats on Tuesday that Madison was good for my blog. 🙂 With more than just a frank lust for better blog stats in view, today I’m presenting another take on Madison.

I’ll begin by acknowledging that my father will hate this portrait. My most vocal critic, he usually doesn’t share my taste for what he considers unnecessary creative augmentation of photographs. I stand pleased with my defiance, however, because in this case both the subject of this portrait — and more importantly, her mother — really like it!

I have always been drawn to the nontraditional and that certainly includes photography. In my teens, my first photographic heroes were norm-smashers Jerry Uelsmann and Robert Mapplethorpe, and in many respects they retain those roles for me still. I personally hate being the subject of photographs, for they unfortunately tend to always end up looking just like me. I, therefore, find the application of some creative augmentation can help make a photo of me bearable. Then you have someone like Madison: visually unflawed, beautiful and well-loved by the camera — nothing was necessary to make this portrait more interesting, for she does that all on her own. However, I know Madison to be a complex and intelligent teenager with a whole lot more going for her than beauty. I thus wanted to visually represent her as all that; to reflect the many textures and layers of character that overlay someone who is far more than just a stunning young woman.

I hope you like the photo. I would like to do more portraits in this vein, but know it’s not something everyone will find to their taste. Is it yours?

“The Many Textures of Madison”, Nikon D800, ISO 200, f/5 at 1/125th sec., 82mm

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings
throughout Central Florida.

Madison

“I want to thank Google, Wikipedia and whoever invented copy and paste. Thank you.”
— Unknown

I had the opportunity to photograph this beautiful young woman, a high school senior, on Sunday afternoon. I hope you — and she — like the photo!

“Madison”, Nikon D800, ISO 200, f/8 at 1/30th sec., 82mm

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings
throughout Central Florida.

A Lifetime Lies Ahead

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.”
— Christopher Robin (A. A. Milne)

“A Lifetime Lies Ahead”, Nikon D800, ISO 640, f/5.6 at 1/160 sec., 190mm

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings
throughout Central Florida.

Windows And A Doorway

“If the eyes are looked upon as the windows to the soul, then a smile must be the doorway to the heart.”
— Unknown

“Windows And A Doorway”, Nikon D800, ISO 640, f/5.6 at 1/160 sec., 112mm

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings
throughout Central Florida.

Sanjay, Again

You may have noticed that the frequency of my blog posts suffered in the weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays; happily that was due to a significant increase in work–which is certainly a good thing! One of the opportunities I had was to photograph actor/model/fitness instructor Sanjay again, who wanted to expand the variety of images in his portfolio. Today I’m sharing two of the B&W images from our sessions.

“Sanjay”, Nikon D800, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/60 sec., 72mm

“Sanjay”, Nikon D800, ISO 1600, f/9 at 1/200 sec., 160mm

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Photographing people, places, pets and ponderings
throughout Central Florida.