Ten Minute Portraits

I love quick, simple portraits. I think this idea will become a series since it’s what I most often do with my kids and it seemed to be pretty popular last time around. (See the first in the series here.)

It’s a Sunday. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately with my dad being ill and going out of town to North Carolina and Las Vegas back to back. I hadn’t really taken pictures in two weeks, and as I was sitting in the living room watching TV, I felt the need to get up and do something. A thunderstorm had just started and the house was very dark, so I knew this would probably not be a natural light kind of day.

My daughter was already wearing the dress, so I found something cute to put in her hair and let her put on lip gloss. We went into my son’s room for the white wall and I set up an Alien Bees 800 with a beauty dish because I wanted the light to be a bit harsh.

And here’s the pullback: 

Total time? About 15 minutes, but only because getting the light out took a bit extra time. Even with lights, you can get the shot quickly!