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Family Photography – James and Natalie

Family Photography

James and Natalie - Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

James and Natalie – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan (click image to see full version)

My wife’s best friend from high school was coming into town to visit family and friends, a do some grueling bike ride. I offered to do some shots of her children while she was in town and these are some of the family photography results.

James and Natalie were very helpful as they were very excited to pick their own spots to have their portraits taken.  It’s always fun to see where kids think good pictures would be then try to work it.  At first James was pretty adamant about keeping his Scooby Doo in everyshot.  As the shoot progressed,  he got more comfortable in front of the camera and the need for his “crutch” slowly diminished.  Natalie on the other hand was a natural.

Smell This - Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

Smell This – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan (click image to see full version)

About the Location

This family photography shoot was done completely at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark in Dayton, Ohio in a few hours with all natural light. Wegerzyn Gardens offers many options for portraits and has an area designed just for the kids to keep them entertained while doing photos.

Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark is located off Siebenthaler and is also home to the Dayton Playhouse.    I have also frequent Wegerzyn Gardens and Cox Arboretum for other photography outlets, you can check out the photos of flowers and butterflies at these links.

A Look Back - Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

A Look Back – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan (click image to see full version)

Gear for the Shoot

I was shooting with my Nikon D5000 using either the 18-55mm or the Tamron 70-300mm. It was pretty bright so I shot at ISO 200 most of the day but when we got inside the Daughtery sculpture I think I bumped it up to 1600.  With the moving children, I tried to keep the shutter speed above 1/200th of a second and to keep a soft focus and separate the kids from the backgrounds I tried to stay at lower f-stops unless I wanted to get the whole scene.  I had a foam core board on hand but for the most part it was overcast.  We were usually near concrete below or the wonderfully burnt out grass that reflects a nice warm fill light.  So if you live in an area where the grass if fried, don’t be afraid to use it to your advantage to shoot on in harsh light, you may end up liking the results.

Sniff Test - Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

Sniff Test – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan (click image to see full version)

If you have any questions about the photos or are interested in booking a session, feel free to leave a comment below or email me directly a_sablan@alexsablan.com. If you want to contact me via other methods you can see all my contact info at about.me.

Natalie - Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

Natalie – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan (click image to see full version)

Primal Scream - Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

Primal Scream – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan (click image to see full version)

James - Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

James – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan (click image to see full version)

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