Is this personal work or client work?
This is sort of a mix of personal and client work. Erica, the gorgeous mama pictured, is a close friend of mine and a talented family and newborn photographer. She completely ‘gets it’ when it comes to lifestyle photography & had zero expectations other than just to see her family through my lens. I knew she was up for anything and we have similar taste on location, so when we chose my own field for her photos, it all felt very personal.
What about this session was most memorable?
Seeing Erica with her babies, loving on them and them loving on her. She patiently waited for each of her pregnancies and God gave her the most beautiful family, so capturing their bond and the season of life they’re in gave me such great joy.
Were there any hurdles?
About five minutes before the session, the sun completely disappeared. At first I was bummed & considered rescheduling — I love backlighting and it’s something I’m known for. But the autumn tones and raw emotion we captured somehow seemed even brighter on that gray day.
Your best photographer/session advice?
My best advice is to have a plan, but be flexible. I always spend 5 or 10 minutes the day or two before a session just closing my eyes and picturing the family, their names, and what I know about them, and I sort of daydream about the different things I want to accomplish during their session. For this session, I knew I wanted to get plenty of shots of Erica snuggling her sweet boys and precious girl, because as a photographer, I know she doesn’t get to be in the frame very often & she deserves to have these precious moments documented.
What gear was used to achieve these?
My Canon 6D body and Canon 35mm 1.4L are my go-to pieces of gear and are all I used for these images. I love the flexibility I have with this focal length – wide angles or detail shots, I feel covered.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Elyse Rowland, of Elyse Rowland Photography, is a lifestyle + documentary photographer in Kalamazoo, Michigan, specializing in family, maternity and newborn. She focuses her energy on creating organic, authentic and emotionally charged images. In addition, Elyse enjoys living the simple life on her family’s homestead, raising two rowdy little boys, and documenting their sometimes peaceful, but mostly chaotic, everyday moments.
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