I’m nearing the end of my “portfolio-building” phase, and getting ready to launch my “pro” photo site within the next month or so. In preparation for that I scheduled two “photo play parties” with friends’ families in hopes of rounding out my portfolio a little more before going live. The first was today!

11 kids (ages 10 months to 7 years), 7 moms, and me… and it was a blast! I set up a backdrop station in the host’s sunroom and one at a time gave the kids a break from playing and brought them over to get a few photos. I spent about 5 – 10 minutes with each, then dove into the play areas to try to catch some candids. For the most part I think it went well.

When I compare it to the standard sessions I’ve had, it was quite different. Rather than getting to know each kid and letting them get comfortable with me, I had to act quickly and work with what they gave me. And, as a result, I didn’t get as many keepers as I’d hoped for a couple of the kids (one wasn’t feeling too well, and another suddenly got camera-shy). But I also think my recent experience in New Orleans (see previous posts) helped tremendously in preparing me for a more hectic shooting situation.

You can see all the photos in my Flickr slideshow (I’ll warn you, there are 63 photos), but here a few that I thought turned out really well:

All in all I’d say it was a success! I’m not sure I’ll schedule a ton of these photo play parties in the future, but it was a great way for me to build my portfolio and get my name and work out to several families at once, and give them each at least a couple good photos of their kids.

You learn something new everyday…

I learned that on an incredibly overcast day, even with a bunch of windows in a well-lit room and a fast lens (I rented the Nikon 17 – 55mm f2.8 again… I’m really in love with that lens!), I need supplemental lighting. I broke down and used my flash today I desperately want to maintain a natural light approach, but sometimes you have to go with the flow. One purchase I think I’ll be making soon is a reflector. I’m still on the fence as to whether or not that’s cheating the whole natural light approach, but I’d rather be prepared than not. Plus, whenever I’m shooting toddlers, they tend to move so fast and randomly that I really need to be as well-equipped as possible to capture them.