On the other hand, a big, bearded guy in a red suit can be a little intimidating at first glance. It took JW a few minutes to warm up to Santa. His dad pulled out his i-Phone and got him to show Santa a couple of his favorite apps. At first he just held the phone out from about 4' away. Dad convinced him to actually hand it to Santa. He did, then scooted back to a safe distance. After a couple of interchanges like that, he stayed closer and actually showed Santa the phone. It was Angry Birds that really broke the ice, though. He got a big kick out of showing Santa how to launch the birds and make them go "boom." After that they had a lot of fun together, and we got some beautiful images.
*Why would you want a child to "stay in place?" Good portrait photography involves controlling light. Photography, by definition is "writing with light" - from the Greek "photos" (light) + "graphe" (write). You can scribble it down really fast, or you can learn beautiful "penmanship" - either one can communicate, but one is definitely more pleasing to the eye and tells the story so much more elegantly. In a studio setting, you can use a broad light source that lights a large area evenly, kind of like using available (all natural) light outdoors, or you can put the light where you want it so that subject is featured, and the rest of the scene supports the story. To light two faces, facing opposite directions and still minimize the light on the background and props took a bit of experimentation, and pulling some lights out of retirement in order to have enough lights for both subjects. It also meant finding ways to keep the children where their light was shining. Interacting with Santa was a big factor. Having them sit in a chair or on the table helped, too.
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