Natalie Cass talks on KSL Radio about Photography
Friday, February 6, 2009
I got a call from Reporter Paul Nelson asking me about photographing families and handling kids. "Sure I photography families though it not be my only source of income I have photographed my fair share of families"
They wrote up an article in the news quoting me and also airing me on the radio. So thats fun.
Here is a link to the audio.
http://real.ksl.com/video/slc/2/274/27448.mp3
Here is the article:
Experts share tips for family photos
February 6th, 2009 @ 6:52am
By Paul Nelson
Many parents love to take pictures of their family, capturing events that they want to remember. But how do you get the rest of the family to cooperate so the picture looks good?
If you're like many people looking over their holiday or Super Bowl family pictures, you may notice one of several things. One kid may be making a weird face, another refusing to actually look at the camera, and the baby… well, he's crying. It may make all the prep work you did before the picture seem like a complete waste of time.
Cass Studios photographer Natalie Cass said, "In the family portrait session, you know, they get their hair done and their clothes are all nice and if the kids screw that up it's like the end of the world."
Cass says the reason some family shoots don't go well is because the parents are too uptight, trying to keep everything perfect, and that rubs off on the children.
"Worse comes to worse, I'll take the parent aside and quietly just say, ‘You know, if you want to step out for a little bit so I can grab some shots of the kids,'" she said.
She says kids may be more interested in playing than taking pictures, and sometimes you have to give in.
"You let them do that. You let them play, so [you tell them] if you do that then we've got to get some big smiles," she said.
Of course you'll have some kids that really have no interest in being there at all. For them, you need to use a little reverse psychology.
David Updike with Jaylynn Studios said, "The kid that really doesn't want to respond doesn't get looked at. Instead, I'm looking at the other kids and involving them, doing something wacko with the kid that is already interested enough to look."
Updike says the interest will spread from one kid to another. You may think younger kids, like 5-or 6-year olds, may be the worst at cooperating with photographers, but Updike says teens are worse.
"Don't you think that you and I, when we were 14 or 15, were always ready to do anything besides please mother," he said.
There are other kids who love to take pictures with the family, but instead of smiling like a regular person, they're trying to be a comedian by making faces or flashing bunny ears behind someone.
Updike said, "I usually have to make a deal with them, [saying] ‘If you do this well, buddy, I'm going to hand you a few quarters.'"
Of course, Updike gets permission to bribe children beforehand from their parents.
Natalie Cass Photographer Salt Lake City UT www.cassstudios.com
posted by Cass Studios @ 12:37 PM,
3 Comments:
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At February 6, 2009 1:07 PM,
raychel deppe said...
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you're a rockstar cass!
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At February 6, 2009 1:24 PM,
Sarah Dumont said...
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I love that family portrait! It's beautiful!! Nice job with the interview also.
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At February 6, 2009 8:13 PM,
Wayne Wallace said...
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Nice job Cass!!!
