photography by danie » older kids

Day 9: High School Senior Portraits and other young adults | Bethesda, MD Senior Photographer

Danie — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:00:17 +0000

Day 9: Looking back at a smaller part of my business — but one I hope to grow next year. Because I have young kids myself, I tend to get referrals to take pictures of other young kids. In 2011, however, I’m going to be making a big effort to diversify — so if you have a young teen, teenager, even a young adult who would like some photos taken, let me know! (Hint: special deals may apply as I continue to build my portfolio in this area…).

- Danie Smallwood, Charlottesville VA and Bethesda, MD senior portraits photographer

ps: Business note update: though originally planned as a 12 Days of Christmas series, leading up to Christmas, my last three days of material will now appear…someday…but not right now. Colds and Christmas spirit made me realize that, while it’s fun to take a step back and look at the year, the project was starting to interfere with kid quality time, so away it goes!.

Day 6: Siblings | Cabin John, MD Photographer

Danie — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 08:00:52 +0000

I know how precious sibling photos can be — precious not only for their sentimentality, but also in scarcity! I can only say that, where sibling photos are concerned, the old adage “The cobbler’s sons have no shoes” rules. Oh sure, I have candid shots, mostly taken with my phone, but wall-quality portraits? Naw. A good sibling photo (where young children are concerned!) is hard fought for, and usually requires a tremendous amount of patience (or possibly luck) on the part of the photographer. When said photographer is doubling as mother, patience can be in short supply! Luckily, I have managed that elusive shot for many clients this year — here are a few favorites!

Crazy how close Christmas is! With the nice coating of snow on the ground here in the Washington DC metro, it’s certainly feeling a lot like Christmas. We even have our very own, approxiamtely 1 foot high, “Frosty the Snowman” [attempt] in our backyard! Stay tuned for winter snow pictures (probably coming in January ), and more immediately, tomorrow’s Day 7 post, where I post pictures that don’t include people!

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD Family Photography

Day 2: Action Shots | {Bethesda, MD Photographer}

Danie — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 05:00:38 +0000

It’s Day 2 of my year in review.

Today, I’m looking back at some of the action shots from this year. Most kids never seem to stop moving, but of course, photography by its very nature takes motion and makes it still. So how to preserve that feeling of motion? Well, in some pictures it’s just obvious (note the second set). Those shots can work as stand-alone portraits. But in other cases (I always think of toddlers learning to walk!), a single picture doesn’t really show much (feet aren’t far enough off the ground, etc.). In those cases, I’ve noticed a storyboard sequence (like below) can show the motion in a way a single picture just can’t. Without futher ado, here are several of my favorite action shots/sequences from the past year, beginning with the little girl, in new shoes, just able to walk, demonstrating a very promising future in soccer!

Sometimes the action speaks for itself — no facial expression needed (or even wanted…). I love these next two pictures — older kids can seriously show action!

Sometimes the legs tell the story — but you still want to see the face. Yet another example of a great use of a storyboard! (And yes, this is my very own Goofy-boy!)

So, to sum up, I’ve decided that in 2011, I’m going to focus more on the action sequences — who knows, you might even see me throwing a few into the galleries as another option (maybe even with no design fee… hurray for freebies?!).

- Danie

The “B” Family | Glen Echo, MD Photography

Danie — Sun, 30 May 2010 20:32:09 +0000

I met the B Family through my son’s school, and am so excited to have gotten to take their pictures this weekend! Going to meet up again for full-family photos — nap time was approaching for the youngest, so the going was a bit tough! — but here is a sneak peak of some of the children’s candid portraits and sibling shots, mostly from the playground at Glen Echo Park. [Note how lucky these beautiful girls are to have such an awesome big brother! L is amazing with his little sisters.]

Looking forward to next weekend, too, B-Fam!