Harry's turning three

urbanaries

So, this was an attempt at some 3 yo pics for H. I learned a few things:
-Kids you don't know are fascinated by you and your camera during a session; your own kid wants to run away from you and laugh.
-The jacket is too big and I need to exchange it and take some more!
-Photographing a 3 yo in an urban setting is stressful and a bit dangerous.
-I get very upset when I can't produce the same results of my own kid than I can for others. I mean, what's the point?

Anyway, here are some very cherry picked shots. Of over 200 frames, there were only a handful of decent ones.

1.


2.


3. I wish I had shot this farther away with a longer lens....


4. That #$#% jacket!!! LOL


5.


6.


7.


8. Inspired by Jeffreaux's recent center compositon

urbanaries

forgot one, the only BW. I can't decide if I like this or not.

9.

saurora

I think the hardest thing for a parent-photographer to do is capture what the parent feels is a perfect photo!!! I think this whole series of Harry is very endearing!!! It brings back memories for me of my own son growing up and yeah....some tears to my eyes! Harry is SUCH a boy!!! ...I can picture you in my mind trying to contain all that boyish enthusiasm and capture his charm on film. I think you did a great job....the "less than perfect" portraits appeal to me immensely. Even the slightly large jacket reminds us that he is growing in leaps and bounds and soon will leave this jacket behind. I keep trying to pick one...but gee, they all make me smile!

Swartzy

Lynne
What a beautiful child.....my he's a great looking boy. I really like 3,5,6. Almost takes me back to a shot my grandfather did of my brother & I with the cars & street on the background. Really nice series Lynne. Keep taking shots of him....they grow so fast....too fast, then they get busy and never get to see them it seems.

Cuties02q

They are all great Lynne...Harry is just the cutest!!!

Pilznr

Excellent Shots!

It helps to have the most adorable 3 year old in the world. I like the BW one, His expression is weird, but I still like it.

Great Work!

Scott_Quier

He is just getting too cute! I really like #3 - The pose and his expression - way cool. And that if you had shot with a longer lens, the background would have been thrown a bit more OOF. Still, it's a very cool shot! Well done!

sle39lvr

I actually like these alot. You captured everything so well. It will be great for him to someday look back on these...

itsaduck

I think these are really great shots and really capture the spirit of a 3yo boy.

As an urban photographer (i.e. I live and shoot in the city), I can totally relate to the challenges of kids' shots so close to the street. You can't beat the light in the city (especially a water city), but the fear of the sudden dart can really affect your camera hold!!

I will say that I like the color shots better. Love the b/w facial expression but not loving the hinges in the background. Though it does kind of lend a devilish appeal. 3yo boys have that, no?

stirfry

Harry looks so *ROCK STAR* in numbers 2 and 7, those are definitely my favorites. The jacket totally seals the deal on an already adorable boy. Good looks, groovy duds, great pics ... how does one become so blessed???!

I love everything about the black and white but the hingest in the background. And maybe it's because I just read an article on Feng Shui the other day, but it looks like we're demasculating and decapitating the young man , and we definitely can't be having that. I'm PS-challenged, but perhaps a quick removal of the leftwards part of the hinges shouldn't be too difficult? Keep from the right up to the flourish, for balance and style, and just get rid of the part that looks like a blade coming out of it (?)

DavidS

Wonderful captures!! I actually like the big jacket. I love the lighting and your processing.

jeffreaux2

...

I am really ...REALLY liking 5-6-7-8-and-9.

...and I say keep the jacket. The too long sleeves don't detract from the photos....if anything I think it brings more to the table. Now playing"Harry's Three"...coming soon..."Harrys Jacket Fits".

Too cute...sleeves and all.

One question.

In the centered window shot. Did it give you fits in PP trying to align the window with the edges....or are you smarter than me and got it right in camera?

ok....one more question.....why is it that you "cherry pick" and the rest of us lowly souls "cull'? Cherry picking seems so fresh and almost romantic. Culling makes me think of fishing.


Thanks for sharing these Lynne.
Looks like the two of you had a great time.

Awais Yaqub

I loved them
Hi Harry

ChrisJ

Awesome.... I wish I could do half as well on my 2.75 yo's 3rd birthday... I'm not even sure I could get 200 shots of him in a small period of time!

I really enjoyed these.

Ann McRae

These are really great - especially 2, 6, 7 and 8 and I think the jacket actually really makes them so!

ann

evoryware

He'll grow into the jacket eventually! Reason to reshoot!

My fav is #3

~Jan~

He's adorable, and I like your comps. I like the jacket, too! The first four look blown in the face to me--not sure if that was in-camera or if you blew them in PP. The last one has a color cast to it, too, but other than that I think it's a very nice set of shots!!

urbanaries

Thanks everyone!!!

saurora wrote:

I think the hardest thing for a parent-photographer to do is capture what the parent feels is a perfect photo!!! I think this whole series of Harry is very endearing!!! It brings back memories for me of my own son growing up and yeah....some tears to my eyes! Harry is SUCH a boy!!! ...I can picture you in my mind trying to contain all that boyish enthusiasm and capture his charm on film. I think you did a great job....the "less than perfect" portraits appeal to me immensely. Even the slightly large jacket reminds us that he is growing in leaps and bounds and soon will leave this jacket behind. I keep trying to pick one...but gee, they all make me smile!

Thanks so much, S! I didn't mean to make you cry, but I know when he's all grown up I will long for these days. I'm trying to enjoy them as much as possible, part of the reason I'm "working" less! He's just so much fun right now, and as you said, very much a boy!

swartzy wrote:

What a beautiful child.....my he's a great looking boy. I really like 3,5,6. Almost takes me back to a shot my grandfather did of my brother & I with the cars & street on the background. Really nice series Lynne. Keep taking shots of him....they grow so fast....too fast, then they get busy and never get to see them it seems.

Aw, thanks Dave! It's so funny you said that about your grandfather. Harrison is named for my late grandfather, and when we went to my grandmothers yesterday, she said he had a herringbone jacket just like the one Harry was wearing.

cutieso2q wrote:

They are all great Lynne...Harry is just the cutest!!!

Thank you Stephenie!!! I appreciate it!

Pilznr wrote:

It helps to have the most adorable 3 year old in the world. I like the BW one, His expression is weird, but I still like it. Great Work!

Thank you for the compliments! I agree with you on the BW, the more I look at it the more it creeps me out, esp after reading stirfy's feng shui take on it (below). Thanks for looking, and for your compliments!

Scott_Quier wrote:

He is just getting too cute! I really like #3 - The pose and his expression - way cool. And that if you had shot with a longer lens, the background would have been thrown a bit more OOF. Still, it's a very cool shot! Well done!

Hey, Scott! I am liking 3 more and more as I think about which one to fotoflot And I hate doing this, but I think I'm going to try to blur the bg more in PS and see how it looks. But man, it was all I could do to get in focus shots of his face (vs the back of his head) the thought of changing lenses in the middle was nothing short of laughable. Toughest shoot in a long time......you know, the cobblers children and all....Thanks for looking!!!

sle39lvr wrote:

I actually like these alot. You captured everything so well. It will be great for him to someday look back on these...

Thank you! It is interesting to think about what he'll say about them when he gets older. He'll have a ton of shoots to C&C for me, that's for sure! Thanks for looking!

itsaduck wrote:

I think these are really great shots and really capture the spirit of a 3yo boy.

As an urban photographer (i.e. I live and shoot in the city), I can totally relate to the challenges of kids' shots so close to the street. You can't beat the light in the city (especially a water city), but the fear of the sudden dart can really affect your camera hold!!

I knew it would be a challenge and having another family member to help corral helped immensely. I hadn't done kids this close to the street before, let alone my runner/climber/mom ignorer! ! Unfortunately Indy is about as landlocked as you can get! But I do love city light...so much concrete to bounce light and create open shade, even in harsh mid-day sun situations.

I will say that I like the color shots better. Love the b/w facial expression but not loving the hinges in the background. Though it does kind of lend a devilish appeal. 3yo boys have that, no?

I like this door for other shoots I've done but it just didn't work here....sounds like you agree! Thanks for commenting!

stirfry wrote:

Harry looks so *ROCK STAR* in numbers 2 and 7, those are definitely my favorites. The jacket totally seals the deal on an already adorable boy. Good looks, groovy duds, great pics ... how does one become so blessed???!

Thanks stirfry!!! So cool that you appreciated what I was "going for" in this shoot! I'm sure my bias/obsession with 60s and 70s music is showing....even though he truly loves playing his guitar and watching The Last Waltz, the Bob Dylan tee was completely self-indulgent on my part! I don't get to play dress up with him very often compared to my "mom of girls" counterparts

stirfry wrote:

I love everything about the black and white but the hinges in the background. And maybe it's because I just read an article on Feng Shui the other day, but it looks like we're demasculating and decapitating the young man , and we definitely can't be having that. (?)

I knew there was a reason this shot didn't sit well with me (my mom loves it!!) You are so right....now that you have articulated what those hinges are doing....it makes me scared....what have I done!!!! Not getting this one printed, for sure!

Mitchell

I like #7 a lot. Looks like a little Ralph Lauren model. Nice job on the processing. My youngest is 3. I've accepted that I have to throw many shots away in my quest to get one keeper!