on International Women's Day.....

08 March 2013

while thinking about what to write, I began to search my mind.... and ended up searching my soul.... to me, this single day to appreciate womanhood is nothing.... the people who are just inseparable parts our lives, they deserve a lot more than just a single day of appreciation... but its true that a day like this makes us think about them.... them... the persons without whom this world would've been without colour.... its because of this day that I'm writing this blog post... and its because of this blog post, that I've searched the inner parts of my soul....

every person in this world deserves his/her dues... and that what justice is all about... we are having to declare an international day for women because of the lack of justice... justice towards all the women folks out there.... we don't have to look too far to see how we are doing in terms of justice.... if every person does justice to others around him/her, there remains no injustice.... so, problem lies within our homes.... society is nothing but a collection of homes.... homes like ours...

being a family portrait photographer I have the privilege of getting close to families... seeing their bonds, feeling their emotions.... and I've never seen more emotion than what I saw in women... especially mothers..... yes, women tend to be more emotional.... but that what make them bring all the colours.... without them the world would've been full of colourless concretes.... I grew up around my mother; fell in love and married my wife; got another mother as a gift from the marriage; gave birth to a wonderful baby girl.... to me, women are all that I have... never had a sister, but that emptiness has been overcome with time, with the help of all the women I have around me; especially my sister-in-law (my brother's wife), who filled that position quite nicely....

to me, the meaning of women is a lot more than celebrating International Women's Day.... to me, everyday is a women's day.... but that day, women should be hand-in-hand with men and men should be with women.... thats the foundation of human bond.... and thats how it should be.....

cute, but "dark" images.....

27 February 2013

children are cute.... and very difficult to manage.... the combination?.... a "cute chaos"!.... well, that chaos can be controlled though, with some hard work and experience.... and that makes children's photos even more precious.... whatever you have to work hard to earn, is usually sweeter while you enjoy them.... children don't develop the expression of adults, which makes it difficult to pose them in front of a camera.... but you also have to be mindful that this is exactly what makes children, well... children.... a child's expression is a child's expression....

41 years victory.... 16 December 2012

but a more mature expression makes some unique photos of children.... something that children are not expected to do.... these photos are damn difficult to make, but always worth the try.... sometimes it just clicks, other times its a pain to pull off.... or in worst case scenario, you may have to quit.... doing our part, we've tried it many times and quite surprisingly, almost always pulled it off.... it doesn't come cheap though.... sometimes, lots of positive and/or negative motivations later, we still were undone and had to do the thing all over.... patience is the key.... we had been blessed by Lamisa's great ability to adapt to our styles.... it obviously happened because of her closeness to camera/studio since her birth.... but as said before, a child is a child... they always need that extra bit to work with them....

Lost Spring

talking of mature expressions, we've done several photos with Lamisa that needed her to portray a more melancholy mood.... making the image more "dark" thematically.... her mood was accentuated by the lighting, props and her surroundings.... at least, in the photo, that is.... but remember that while she was being photographed, all that moody environ wasn't there at all.... all of that turned into reality only after the actual photo was taken with moody lights.... moody lights depend on the artificial light settings.... and until the light flashes, its a typical environ around her.... it only becomes something to look at after the photo is made inside the camera..... for example, both the "41 years of victory" photo and the "Lost Spring" photo were made against a white wall..... the lighting made all the difference.... as a child we never expected Lamisa to understand the full meaning of what we were doing.... but we did give her cues regarding the mood that should be portrayed here.... she did respond.... just like any other preschooler would....

previously, in another post of December 2011 we've discussed three particular photo-shoots, where mood was everything.... though the moods in those photos were quite different.... the Victory Day shoot of 2011 was particularly difficult to make.... you can check it out here.... we also expect to discuss the 21st February photo of 2012, which was very popular among our viewers....

don't forget to leave your feedback.... and thanks for reading!

never miss a group shot!!

03 February 2013

group photos, especially family group photos are often neglected while they are being taken... people have too much urgency and suddenly everyone finds a work somewhere which makes them hurry.... the end result - someone is missing from the group photo.... its so common... it probably happened to everyone at least once.... but every group shot is precious.... I never found two group photos of the same group turning the same... either some people changed or they gained more members or some people went missing from the group or something else that I can't think of has happened.... the main lesson always is, don't miss an opportunity with a group shot.... either being in the group or shooting a group... its a precious moment...

this writing tries to explore some of the learning I had while shooting group photos....

 This photo was taken in 2010, and if taken again, it would be completely different

persuade, persuade, persuade.....

its true that its very difficult to get everyone in one place for a group shot... sometimes you may even have to hear some negative things for organising this, as if you're doing some harm to them.... yet, you have to have patience and have to convince others about the benefits of the venture... tell them how precious the picture would be after years....

 This photo, taken in 2010 is significant not just because its difficult to get this whole group together again, the old country-house used as a backdrop is gone now

use any camera.....

if your pro-level DSLR is too far away in your car and there's a risk that bringing that camera may result in missing the complete group, forget about the DSLR and use whatever you have with you.... this is the safe shot..... if you still get the luxury of time, get the highest megapixels and the biggest and the heaviest camera.... whatever!

 Taken in 2009, this photo can't be taken again; ever... because the central figure in the back left his loved ones within a month of taking this photo. This event was one of the biggest persuasion behind my concentration in portrait photography

forget about the technicalities....

a lot of the times we get too much involved in the technical matters and get too much into our gears.... while its OK to get the technical portions right to make sure that the end result looks good and also gives options regarding what you can do with it, make sure that it doesn't take too much time... too much time may push people's patience and may result in exclusion of some figures from the photo....

 Taken in 2007 with a 10-sec timer, this photo reminds us of our honeymoon times. The photo can be taken again today, albeit with some hassle, but it would look a lot different.

give priority to children....

if the group contains children, especially small children, always give them priority.... they're the most difficult to include in a photo... make sure they're properly fed or not feeling ill or sleepy.... and children would change the most when you do the next group shoot....

 Whenever there would be children in the photo, the photo goes old within a very short period of time. If this photo is repeated today, it would be totally different, even though it was taken less than a year ago in May 2012.

 
choose location beforehand....

if you can manage the time, choose the location well before you get the group together.... that will save time for you and you could also get prepared for any eventuality (e.g. light direction and intensity, weather, security, etc.)

use occasions.....

various occasions bring in the most number of people together, thus giving the best opportunity to get a group photo.... sometimes, we become too busy during occasions or parties and may forget group photos altogether.... get the job delegated to someone who would not forget.... if you have the latitude and if the occasion is big enough, you can think about hiring a professional to do the job for you..... that way, you don't miss the opportunity.... you don't know who might be absent from the next group photo!

and if you are interested, you can also have a look at our group photo-shoot offers "My Family My Moment" for more elaborate group photos and "One-hour Magic" for a short session with a maximum of four people....

what experiences do you have regarding group photos?.... do you have any tips to share with us?.... leave your experiences... and thanks for reading.....