Digital Photographer - USA (2019-07)

‘I

’mgoingtoturnoutallthelightsnow’.

MyheartsankasEdwardannouncedhis

intentiontochangethegamewewere

playingduringmyfamilyphotography

shoot.I’dbeentakingpicturesofthefamily

playingaboardgameduringaveryrainy

portraitsession.Everyonewasgathered

aroundthetableinthedrawingroomplaying

Pictionary,therewaslaughterandthepictures

werecomingthickandfastaseveryone

laughedandjokedtogether.

ThenEdwardannouncedachangeofpace,

hewantedtoplaywithhisLegoaeroplaneand

doanightflightintotheairportinhisLegocity.

I’velearntlongagotogowiththeflowwhen

photographingchildren.Sometimeswe’ll

spendsometimeonanactivitythatwillnot

resultinanypictures,butit’sbettertodo

thatandkeepthekidsonsidethantosay

nototheirideas.Ifindiftheyfeeltheyhave

agency,controloftheactivities,thenthey

havemorefunandIgetbetter

pictures.Havingthelightsturned

out,ofcourse,isn’t’idealfora

photographerbutIthoughtwe

candoitforfiveminutesandthen

I’llmovetheactivityon.

However,andhereisthelesson,

itwasatthispointinthedayI

tookmybestpicturefromthe

sessionandoneofmyfavourites

fromthewholeyear.It’simportant

asphotographersthatwestay

opentoopportunitiesandadjust

ourequipmenttogiveusthebest

chanceoftakingagoodpictureat

alltimes.

IsetmyCanonEOS1DXMark

IItoISO 8000 andmyCanon

EF35mmf1.4LUSMlensto1.4

(theshutterspeedwas1/250)andthenI

waited.AsEdwardflewhisplanearound,his

dadcreatedthelandinglights

withatorch.Itdidn’ttake long

beforeIspottedtheshadow on

theceilingandthenthenext five

minuteswerespentworking the

shot,tryingdifferentangles and

approachesandEdwardran from

oneendoftheroomtothe other

enjoyinghisgame.

Ittookanumberofshots

beforeIgotthisone,Iwanted the

entireshadowoftheplane within

thespotlightandalsoIneeded

sharpfocus(whichwasn’t easy

shootinginthedark).Here it all

comestogether,andIlove the

result.Soif,whenyouare out

takingpictures,youthink you

won’tfindanimagethen don’t

giveup,stayalertandsometimesabit of

magicwillunfoldinfrontofyou.

probio

HelenBartlettisa

London-basedfamily

photographer,specialising

innaturalphotographs

takeninblackandwhite.A

CanonAmbassador,she

hastaughtseminarsand

masterclassesonfamily

photographyall

overEurope.

http://www.helenbartlett.co.uk

Allimages©Helenbartlett

Don’t stop shootIng

Sometimes the best images appear when you least expect them

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