James

About a month ago, I opened my inbox (which is usually distressingly void of client-type emails) to find this…

“I need a photo of my grandsons age 17 and 11. I’ve looked at all the Lubbock photographers that had online galleries and you are my pick by alot. Is there anyway you could pretend that they are a couple of spaniels and do something fun for me. Please. Linda”

Now, I will be the first to admit that I don’t know much about portrait photography, but how do you say no to an email like that?  So I dug out some books on lighting and posing and portrait photography in general, and I searched the internet for tips and tricks.  I won’t lie, I was REALLY nervous driving to meet James and his mom.  None of my usual tricks were going to work here, as I was fairly certain James would not be entertained by squeaky balls and dog treats.  Luckily for me, he turned out to be a great kid, and we had such a fun time wandering around TTU’s campus with him and his mom.

The one on the left is one of my favorites.  He’s like one part cute kid, one part bada$$.  We found out during the session that he’s a skateboarder, so of course I was imagining all sorts of ways to incorporate it into photos.  Which wasn’t terribly helpful, considering we didn’t actually have the skateboard.

Following the above shot, I asked him to do a “serious, thinking pose” and he throws out the one on the right below.   Love. him.

There are shots in the outtakes that still make me laugh to look at them.  Most of them involve him making a face that clearly indicates that he thinks I am crazy.   Which may or may not be true…

A big thanks to Linda for setting this up, and to Jill and James for a great time.  And if we meet again, bring your skateboard!!