This week it seems as though I can do nothing right. That is, I sense that my two year old is less than approving. At two and a half, he is expressing and declaring his autonomy and yet in the same breath saying, “I need help!” I keep reminding myself that I am the adult in the situation; I wish I didn’t feel frustrated with him, with the stage really, but it is not easy taking the brunt of whatever frustration it is I imagine he is feeling at age two. His behavior is certainly colorful.
Meanwhile, come night time, he asks for me and only wants me. No matter how many songs his dad will sing to him or how long his dad will sit beside his bed at night, Levi refuses to go to sleep until I come into his room for his regular bedtime routine. I HAVE to read him a bed time story. I HAVE to sing him a series of songs. And I HAVE to ask him about his day and listen to his stories. It doesn’t matter if I am sick, exhausted, or am simply letting his dad play sub for me. He refuses to have his bedtime routine go any other way than how he wants it to go.
Add to this that some nights, even after we go through two bedtime routines, he says, “But I wanna sleep wit-chu mama.” Some nights I am able to convince him that all his friends (a number of stuffed animals that he likes to sleep in the middle of) need him and will miss him if he sleeps in my bed. Some nights I am able to simply reassure him that he will be okay in his own bed. Other nights . . . other nights, he makes his wishes so well heard that we can do nothing but move further over on our respective sides of the bed and make way for our kicky little man to catch his zzzs in the middle of our bed. We’ve also managed to have him go to sleep in his own bed on those nights when we carry his toddler bed down the hall to our room. After a little convincing, he is good to sleep in his own bed in mommy’s room.
But it wasn’t always this way. Months, maybe even a year ago, Levi slept great in his own room and in his own bed. He’d take a bath, have a story, listen to songs, and then fall asleep before the routine was even over. He was a great sleeper. He wanted nothing to do with sleeping with his mom and dad.
So I’m a little confused to say the least and I’m trying so hard to decipher my little guy’s behavior and what it is that I ought to be doing aside from harvesting gray hairs.
Below are a few photos I took from a recent tricycle outing with Levi. He so badly wanted to peddle his trike all by himself, up the big hills through the sand and grass, and felt so passionate about meeting his goal that he even would get off of his trike and walk beside as he pushed it than ask his old mom for some help. The great moments that weren’t captured on film are those where I would try to help him and he would very loudly make his case to be autonomous. Oh, it takes all the sense of humor I have in me to endure the twos. At the very least, it makes for some great photos and stories.
Over six months ago, I promised a post dedicated to the photography of the sixties. Redundant though it may be, I have to say I got a bit side tracked. Today I want to make good on my promise and share my experimentation with the style of sixties portrait photographer Richard Avedon. Below is a snip-it from PBS American Masters:
Throughout his career Avedon has maintained a unique style all his own. Famous for their minimalism, Avedon portraits are often well lit and in front of white backdrops. When printed, the images regularly contain the dark outline of the film in which the image was framed. Within the minimalism of his empty studio, Avedon’s subjects move freely, and it is this movement which brings a sense of spontaneity to the images. Often containing only a portion of the person being photographed, the images seem intimate in their imperfection. While many photographers are interested in either catching a moment in time or preparing a formal image, Avedon has found a way to do both.
Granted, I am a young photographer and my style is ever evolving. I am not Avedon. His style and work though couldn’t have returned to my attention at a better time; being that I photograph newborns and children, I sometimes feel pulled to include more and more props in my work from chairs and baskets to the popular wood floors (made from rubber) and shabby chic doors (painted on canvas and vinyl) that so many newborn photographers are bringing into their work. Down the road, I may consider adding these props to my studio, but in looking at Avedon’s work, I must say that I see the value in revealing the subject alone. Without props. Without all the frou-frou.
Photographing a child and/or a newborn is not easy and many photographers find it easier to engage a child or add interest to a baby portrait by bringing in hats, colorful blankets, and unusual (and scary looking–a baby suspended from a branch held up by nothing but a scarf–though heavily photoshopped) poses. I myself rely on placing a single chair in the studio for a small subject to pull up on, study (which makes for curious portraits), climb on, and play with. That said, there are those portraits that are more a display of furnishings and design than they are studies of the individual photographed for the portrait.
The following portraits came about on accident, though, and were not initially intended for this post. I woke up early and got an itch to set my lights up differently than I normally would. I used one light to the right at 90 degrees and a reflector to the left side of my subject (Levi). I then processed these photos using a blue filter. I placed a single chair (and later a crate) in the center of the studio for my son to climb on and play with (holding a toddler’s attention is key when working within the parameters of a studio setting). I DO like these photos and am eager to get back into my studio to play some more with this combination.
What this experiment leaves me with though is a new perspective on the use of props in portraiture. I am seeing what other professionals in the field are creating (there is a trend towards the frilly newborn photo), and while beautiful, I am standing back and considering how and in what direction I want to take my portraiture.
Today is one of those days where I feel like I have all my ducks in a row. I am juggling several different events and clients right now, but I’ve got plans in place and feel good about these upcoming jobs. I just finished a reorganization of my photography library, cleaning up my mac and adapting a new system for backing up client photos. And it seems that I have much of the equipment needed to take on more newborn work as well as those events that line up with my schedule. It feels good to be organized; sort of like cleaning out a closet.
Anyway, with my business in order, I am finding it easier to seek out inspiration. In the past few days I’ve gotten a chance to catch up with my favorite bloggers and photographers, and I’ve also had a chance to cross paths with new artists. One blog that I just had to share with you is called Life-n-Reflection; the page I’ve linked to here is a great resource with tips on cameras, camera equipment (the artist is a Canon gal), still life and landscape photography tips, editing software, and a link to her etsy shop where readers can purchase different textures for processing photos and creating their own mixed media.
I am new to this. Fortunately, I know artists out there who are not, and this makes it easier to take a chance and try my hand at blending textures with my photos. A local friend and mom who I met years ago in a Montessori playgroup owns her own digital scrapbooking shop called Creation by Tinamarie. Today I purchased Tina’s Subdue blending papers via Oscraps. Below are my first attempts at blending these textures with photographs I took earlier this fall in Pennsylvania. The original photographs can be seen here.
Playing with textures from old texts, burlap, and wood seems like a great way to experiment and keep my work fresh. I am glad to have stumbled across this tool and am going to keep playing around with it.
What do you think? Do you like photographs that add texture layers to play with lighting, color, and overall effect? Do you ever include texture blending in your own photographic or art work?
As promised I am back with a few photos for Beth’s You Capture “Cold” and communal global’s Tuesdays Around the World. Originally I had thought of these photos as Levi and the Climbing Tree, but I think they work for cold; in a way, the photographs have a cold feel to them. You’ll see ;-) . . .
On another note, even though some days here are cold and windy, we try to get outside as much as we can. A pinch here and there of Vitamin D seems to do us all good; I notice my kids are happier and more relaxed after they’ve had a chance to run around outside and get fresh air. Levi is learning to climb trees the way his sister and her friends do. For Christmas, Santa brought him a soccer ball and a basketball, which he likes to play by himself (and not with mom and dad and sister or any other kid). When the neighborhood kids organize a game, Levi wants nothing to do with it. But he does love to wander around and gather sticks, rocks, and anything that he can do on his own. At age two, I am guessing that he is not entirely ready for group play although he does seem to love having friends over (though even then, he plays by himself, content to just have a friend beside him). When it is calm enough and warm enough, we are outside, and on other colder winter days, we are playing inside, doing arts and crafts, going to the library, and playing at open gyms. In my eyes, cold weather doesn’t need to be deterrent to fun . . . it’s just inspiration for other ways to play.
Until next week, stay warm!
~Jessica
P.S. Don’t you love Beth’s new button for “You Capture”? I do!
Many of the newborns who I photograph usually travel to my home studio in Reston; but every once in a while, I go to baby. This past week, I travelled down to Manassas where I photographed Baby Girl G with her mom and dad in their beautiful home. Below is a little peak into our session.
Again, congratulations to Mama J and Papa R. You have a beautiful family and I look forward to seeing you again in six months!
P.S. To my readers: I hope to be back tomorrow with something for Beth’s You Capture Challenge: Cold. Which I may have to be creative with since it’s been pretty warm here this winter, though it’s been windy. Today I was searching for my car in the parking lot and I was nearly knocked over by the wind. My stroller, however, did fly away as I was putting Levi in the car. Whoa!
To see more of my newborn work, click here, :-)
