I had this amazing idea earlier in the school year to bring in a couple of my cameras and let the kids see what it’s like to use use an SLR camera, while I used my third camera to take pictures of them doing it.

It was an awesome idea, I thought.  Planned it out.  Told the teachers.  Then wondered, would insurance cover two four year olds colliding on the playground, shattering lenses?

But I needn’t have worried.  It was a great time, and I achieved what I considered my main objectives:

• to give the kids a sense of what it feels like to hold such a heavy camera (even with fixed lenses on there, the Nikon D300 and D700 are heavy cameras)
• to show the kids how to put their eye right up to the viewfinder and take a moment to see what they were going to be taking a picture of
• to teach them the proper grip for the camera (aka, left hand wrapped under the lens, bearing the weight, fingers carefully not blocking the lens; right hand, 3rd, 4th and 5th fingers wrapped around the grip, pointer finger on the shutter button)

I’ve seen many adults shoot with a poorer grip than these kids had!

Here’s another look at a great grip (this one’s my son!).  As you can see, the grip was very important, because these kiddos were too little for the strap to be of any use!

Aside from a fun time, an unexpected benefit is that I now have dozens of pictures of myself, with camera in hand.

So, if you ever need pictures of yourself, just grab your nearest preschooler….

(A couple of these kids have a pretty good sense of composition, too — or else, seriously good luck.    You can see some original-crop pictures on my Facebook Page.)

A huge hug and thank you to the preschool teachers who facilitated this and so many other fun and new activities for these eager little minds!

- Danie

Getting to this picture took a bit of doing.  It started when my son spotted this tree in the Enchanted Forest section of Clark’s Elioak Farm (out in Clarksville, MD).  He climbed right up and started posing for the camera.  We were on a roll, I thought!

Encouraged, I coaxed my daughter up onto the log to join him.  This didn’t go nearly as well (although I actually enjoy the last picture on the right).

Since the picture I had in mind was clearly not going to happen all by itself, I decided to go into more professional mode.  [Side note:  my daughter is standing next to me yelling, "It's pwetty, it's pwetty!  It's BOTH of us!" Yeah, that's the point, kiddo, you've got it!]  Broke out the water bottle for a quick break.  Tried the “give your sister a hug” trick (distinct no go on daughter’s part).  Upset that his sister didn’t want his hug, big brother starting poking sister in the head.

Clearly, it was time to take a different approach.  We took a little break, and by the end my daughter had gone from the sad face on the left, to the happy “Here’s my nose, Mommy!” face on the right.  Yes!  We were back on track!

Stuck my son back up there, and quickly grabbed the photo you saw at the top.  Whew.  That only took about 20 minutes.    Good things come to those who wait.  [Another side note:  my daughter just walked up again and announced, "Wow, I so pretty, Mommy!"  And modest, too.]

And a final note:  one of the great things about fall is the vivid colors.  But after editing all these photos, I just wasn’t feeling it, and finally decided to reprocess them, going for a soft look.  Loving it.

- Danie Smallwood

In the end, I always end up with a few pictures that just don’t make the cut of the absolute best.  They might be a little snap-shotty, or the focus could be a little soft.  But nevertheless, there is something compelling about them.

These are a few of the outtakes from my photo shoot this past weekend.  The unsteady walker, with parents looking on.  A break for a yoga pose.  Chasing down vehicles at the park, and stopping to pet a doggie.  And of course, the ever-classic “I can push the stroller myself!”  Since I try not to rush little kids, these little moments represent the majority of the time we spend shooting, waiting for the gems….

Hope these brought a smile to your face, M Family!  They sure make me happy when I look at them.

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD lifestyle family photography

First, we have little lady “M”, who was just about done (you know what I mean!) — captured being an adorable 4 year old!

While “M” was jumping, I was simultaneously shooting and replaying my mental list of the shots I had planned to get, and realized, rats, “Daddy-Daughter” was missing.  Well, being as stubborn as I am, I just HAD to have the shot.  But by this point, our super cooperative little lady M was pretty uninterested in taking more pictures, and definitely not just her and Daddy.  She wanted a picture of Daddy jumping.  So, with my apologies to Daddy R, who probably did not expect to see this on my blog, but I just had to share this awesome Daddy-Daughter moment. Look at the sheer joy on “M”‘s face!  [So yes, Moms everywhere, show this one to your husband before your shoot.] This wraps up my fall whirl-wind season — a million thank you’s to all my wonderful clients who have been so patient as we have battled one illness after another the past couple weeks at our house.  On the mend and getting excited about December!

- Danie