Need opinions on setting up a baby pic

jlovie

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My sister found this photo online and wants to re-create it for my dad using her son who will be 6 months old at christmas.



She has all the props/clothing except for the deer as of right now. Hopefully we find one asap as it is obviously a major part of the pic. Anywho, as well as the pic with my nephew by himself, we will also be taking a pic with him along with myself and his step sister (who is 12) dressed in camo and orange. We also have an old Red Ryder "pop gun" that belonged to my uncle who recently passed to use as well. I'm wondering if you guys have any ideas of how we can set up a few pics besides us just flashing the pearly whites? Something funny maybe? Keep in mind that winter has set in and I don't want to keep my little buddy out in the cold too long. Thanks fellas, any help is much appreciated.
 
In my experience with photographing kids (such as it is), I find that they never really stand around, pose and do what you tell them. The best kid photos, by far, are when you are: a) shooting from down low, like on your knees; b) shooting lots, including mixing it up with flash and without (because you'd be surprised but sometimes flash looks better when you least expect it, and sometimes no flash looks better); and c) letting them be themselves and do what they want. If you let them be themselves, they will soon forget about you and concentrate on having fun. Then the magic happens, as long as you have enough shots on your card and keep shooting. The revolution in photography opened up by digital cameras is not that cameras got smaller; it's that you can shoot several hundred shots (and see what each one looks like) without needing to change film and process.

If you do these things and are not afraid to shoot upwards of 100 shots in the 30 or so minutes you have the kids playing like this (with whatever props you choose), I guarantee there will be one or two images where the stars line up and you will get incredible and natural-looking photos that you want to print big.

My son is 11 now and I've been doing this ever since he was born, including at birthday parties, playgrounds, sporting events, Cub Camps, etc. It works. I've got countless "wall-hangers" just from shooting like this.
 
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