Children photography is not a major specialty of Zorz Studios. But when I do it, I want to make it different from the others. With this session, I pulled off something that not only I haven’t done yet, but I haven’t seen at other studios.
For starters, I cannot make these sessions similar to the others because I do not have all the cute props in my studio which is designed for fashion, commercial, and fine art. My inherent ambition to create something different, anyway, is another reason.
While I do not explore this new market, I do have an existing clientele which also grows their families. Most of my creative children photography has been done for studio’s maternity or wedding clients (or both), so when someone who already experienced my style and quality inquires about a session for their baby or a child, I certainly oblige. And when this parent also asks for something uncommon, distinctive from her friends’ or even her own older child’s photos, I jump on it. This was the case with this year-old baby.
I must admit, the room for creativity for babies seems limited. You search for “creative children photography” and as it is often the case, still see the same “creative” ideas over and over… That is when it occurred to me that I need to do something that few other photographers can, by nature. I recalled that I used to draw and should finally start fully employing this skill, beyond existing digital retouching and fine art. This session would grant me with a perfect opportunity.
I decided to do a high-key portraiture with an artistically elegant, minimalistic feel achieved by hand-sketched backgrounds and a prop per theme. Minimal clothing, accessories, toys, and other visual distractions so that there is more focus on the eyes and a smile with two tiny “tooths”. The overall theme became traveling and places around the world: Russian village, Paris, London, Greece, and China.
I bought a new seamless paper background (turns out all 12 yards is just the right size!), and a new set of pencils and markers. The idea was to come to the studio before the afternoon session and create five drawings, first with pencils, then markers, taking about an hour for each place. I haven’t drawn for almost 20 years and slightly underestimated my dulled momentum… After completing the first piece I realized I should forgo the pencils and just take my chances with drawing with markers. After the tense and rushed eight hours trying not to do a lousy job but be mindful of proportions, perspective, and shadows, I only finished four drawings. At the end of the shoot, I decided to go over my time and finish the fifth drawing of a Chinese theme. That red dǒulì was quite a quest for the client to get and it would have been a shame to skip the theme.
Make it yours! Now, let this new and unique initiative become an exclusive Zorz Studios offering! (Until more studios follow, of course.) Come with your requests and ideas, and I will be happy to add a touch of custom art, fusing multiple forms of creative self-expression! Learning from this experience and timing things better, we can do even more elaborate projects! The fee will reflect the complexity and will be in addition to the usual photography fee but the canvas portrait, once hung on the wall, will be something that very few other parents have.
