Beautiful kids

You know, I've been blessed with lots of friends with absolutely beautiful kids. I know mine are absolutely stunning as well (I'm allowed to be biased, I'm the mother), especially after just being sick all over himself and daddy, sitting in the laundry sink and having a bath.

But you know... as cute as they are (I really know I'm biased, sorry), sometimes it is just really nice to get some other... uhm... victims before my lens.
Just in the last couple days I was actually missing Logos Hope and the people on board and thought how unfortunate it was that I only really got interested in photography AFTER we left the ship... I mean, it started on the ship, but there were so many missed opportunities and I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, just fiddling around and see what would happen.
Well, I still don't have a clue what I'm doing most of the time but somehow the quality of my photos have somewhat improved, and NOT only thanks to lightroom or photoshop (thank you very much). Fiddling around and see what would happen as well as reading a lot about it has left it's mark. And so here the beautiful kids of my friends come into the picture. I always thought I'd love to be a landscape photographer but somehow my interest has shifted (not only because trying to be a landscape photographer involves getting up much earlier than I am accustomed to in order to catch that beautiful morning light) and I see myself chasing kids with my lens.
It started with my friend Heather and her twins. She asked me if I could take some pics for her for her Christmas presents, and I said "sure" and it was fun, luckily I did think of those balloons.

Then I had the chance of having these three cuties as "victims" (just look at those eyes.. hang on you can't see them, it's black and white... but believe you me, those eyes are BLUE).

Another chance was the twins birthday party. (it was an animal theme)

And just a couple of weeks back I went to one of my favourite beaches with these four girls.

Before those "photoshoots" I'm always a bit... uhm... scared. "What if the kids just don't go along?" "What if they refuse to look at me?" "What if the photos don't turn out okay?" and may more questions starting with what ifs. Many of these questions were actually answered. The girls for example had just plain fun at the beach and I happened to be there. We had a little picnic and they were basically running and climbing and chasing around, now and then I got them herded together on one rock or another and took some snaps... I was so relieved that part worked out well. The photos also looked okay, but I also learned a lot, things I should and will do different next time.
One big thing is light. I thought I'd go in the late afternoon, but often their faces still had those really harsh shadows or they were looking rather towards the light which made them squint. I did bring my reflector (which I got for my birthday) but it was so windy that it was no use... I generally forgot about the wind actually. When I edited the photos at home I realized that on many promissing shoots the girls' hair were just all over the place... oops. I also learned about open shade accidentally, which is a good thing. The photos I took in open shade at the beach just after the sun disappeared behind a hill, turned out the best I think...

anyway, I am waffling.

Now I have a new opportunity next week. One lady from church asked me if I could take some photos of her foster children and even get paid a little ( I don't know what I think about the getting paid part, I really don't feel like a "real" photographer). This is a totally new step for me, as I don't really know those kids at all. And silly me came up with a silly idea: "What about going to the fire brigade with them?". I'm not the kind of girl just to walk up to the fire station and ask but the foster mum IS that kind of girl... and the fire brigade said they'd be happy for us to take photos with the kids and the engines... geee... what did I get myself into... now I have to get smart about how to take good photos in fire engines.... I mean I could fire my flash, but working properly with a flash is one of those areas I don't have a clue about... ou well, I'll do my best and pray :o))) And to be honest, even though I am a bit scared of this "photoshoot" I'm also excited about the outcome... and just hope and pray that somehow I get a couple of decent shots.