[Michele Rushworth]

This is such a great thread that touches on so many critical issues to our business. Here's how I see them:

1. Reshooting. Mary you wrote that you don't want to "disturb your clients again" by asking for another shoot. However, they are paying you a fair bit for the portrait so I'm sure they would rather allot another hour to get the photos right. Don't sweat this issue.

2. Planning, planning, planning! Mike and Joan both hit the nail on the head, as have artists like Sharon Knettell in other threads. Go to the location on a separate day, when the model is not there and thoroughly plan everything ahead of time.

3. Lighting is THE essential ingredient. The more I learn about portrait painting and photography, the more I'm finding that to be true.

4. Photographing little ones. Mike, once again, got it right. Hire Billy Crystal to stand behind you. If that's out of your budget, ask the Mom to stand behind you and talk to the child about happy things, ask him questions about things he likes, etc. Don't let her tell him, "Smile, Johhny -- SMILE!" since that is guaranteed to create a frown or a fake smile and an unsuccessful photo session.

5. Letting clients see all the raw photos. I have never done this -- it's just asking for trouble, in my opinion. They will inevitably love a face shot that is badly exposed or for which I have no body or hand shots with the right angle or lighting. Then, all the face shots that WILL work will be less enthralling to them and they will be ultimately disappointed with the final painting. "If only we could have had that shot with his cute little grin," etc etc...... I only show correctly exposed photos that I love and that will work with body, hand, feet, and background photos that I can paint from.

I had a similar client situation to the one you describe, Mary, just this last week. I have been commissioned to paint the three year old brother of the girl in the Flowergirl painting that you may have seen in the critique section. The mother and I had talked about an outdoor setting by the water for him.

Here's all the planning that went into it:

I spent a couple of hours studying similar paintings (full length portraits of little boys by the water) of many artists on SOG whose work I admire. I looked at lighting, posing, clothing, backgrounds, props, etc.

I took three trips to two different parks with my camera, weeks before the shoot was to occur. I knew the best time of day for a three year old was likely mid morning, so I chose parks with water that faced the right direction for where the sun would be at that time of day.

When I went to the parks (at the same time of day when the shoot would happen) I took my tripod and posed myself in more than a dozen different spots. I sat down on the ground so I'd be at kid height and photographed myself with the self timer. I probably took 75 shots that way. I wanted a person in these test shots (me) so I could evaluate how the light fell on a face in each location.

I found the ideal spot beside a big tree trunk with the water in the background. Here's why I thought it was ideal: The tree was on the edge of the forest so the boy would be in a shady place and wouldn't be looking into sun or into a sunlit area. I didn't want him squinting.

Also, having him stand with the tree immediately on the right side of him would block that side of the light so there would be some form to the lighting. I didn't want flat, even shade on his face, I wanted some directionality to the lighting. Remember, he is completely in shade so none of this is harsh direct sun, though. It's even, soft light, mostly coming from the left.

There was still a little light leaking around the far right side of the tree which I wanted to block, though. To solve this problem I brought a large black piece of foam core which I propped on the right side of the tree. No more light leaking in from over there.

I also took many background photos, ahead of time, without a person in the shot. I took many bracketed photos with the correct exposures for the tree (very dark and in the shade) and with different exposures of the lake in the background (very bright, in full sun). Then some more exposures in between, so I could see the relative brightness of these different areas.

I also knew that a child his age might not know what to do with his hands. I went to a toy store and picked out a small rubber baseball for him to hold. I planned on telling him that he would be able to keep it "if he was good".

His mother and I had talked long in advance about what he was to wear, as well, and I had asked her to show me the outfit weeks before the shoot happened.

When the day of the shoot arrived we got right down to business: good time of day for the little guy's mood, perfect lighting, great outfit, baseball in hands, mom behind me cheering him on, etc.

I photographed him for 5 minutes and then gave him a break. I looked at the shots I had taken, saw that we were on track, then called him back for two more five minute sessions. Within twenty minutes we were done and I had shot 150 photos.

The whole session was quick and easy on the kid and easy on the mom. She came away with the impression that I knew exactly what I was doing since she didn't see any of the planning and agonizing over all these issues that had gone on beforehand.

Since all the photos were taken in the same setting, with me shooting from the exact same spot with the tripod, I know I can mix and match at will to get the right combination, to make what I hope will be a great portrait.

I didn't just "know" to do all this right from the start when I began taking reference photos for my work. My first attempts three years ago were truly awful! In the mean time I read everything I could get my hands on about photographing kids, outdoor lighting, choosing locations, etc.

Whew! This is probably the longest post I've ever written!

The main thing I learned from all this? Do the PLANNING.