This was my actually my second session with Jude and let me just say, it’s not getting any easier. Taking child portraiture is tough, although this time I had a lot more room to play and get some better expressions. Since it was done in my studio, I had more opportunity to play around with lighting. Some techniques turned out great and others did not. I loved the first shot below; I had a SB-800 with an umbrella camera right and an SB-600 bouncing off a reflector on camera left, the backdrop is actually my large reflector with some surface blur. When you’re working with a child you have a time limit before things just start to go south, so you have to move quick. Jude is great behind the camera, you just have keep his attention and do some dumb stuff to get a rise out of him. For example, rattling keys, dancing around, letting him touch the camera, yelling baby talk etc. Sometimes, that might get a smile. We had a couple of wardrobe changes and we’re in it deep for about 2 hours, but it went off without a hitch. With every child session I’m learning more and more about how to work with them and I really enjoy it. I’m looking forward to next time with Jude!