Candids in Lowlight

Wild.

My shoots don't ever go as expected. Either the client's personality will be different than I assumed, or I will end up loving a backdrop that I had thought I would hate. No matter what it always is a massive surprise how it turns out.

In this case my client was late.

That wouldn't normally be a big problem, but since we scheduled during "the golden hour" it was pushing daylight by the time this mom and her little crew arrived.

Terrifying

Yea, I'm a photographer, I should be able to shoot in any light. But I have a breaking point. With my equipment not being high end and my subjects being 7-11 year-old's I just accepted the fact that I was gonna miss a lot of shots due to blurriness.

Relief

The clients were amazing, so kind, so open. The kids didn't have any qualms about me being a stranger, they dove right in to having their picture taken. The best part? My new lens, that 35mm f1.8? (my post about that baby is here) It was a dream, I would not have gotten 25% of the photos with my kit 18-55mm f3.5 that I did with that low aperture. I could have sacrificed a bit more ISO and gotten a few more clear and sharp shots than I did, but I have no regrets.

Change

I notice that the new lens changes my style. Shooting with my kit telephoto, I shoot a lot of close ups, with the 35mm I have the freedom to shoot wide and it changes how I frame up a photo. Once I use it some more I will have more detailed reason.

Check out some of my favorite candids from this shoot.