Photographing Children Photo Workshop, Second Edition

Ginny Felch

Photographing Children Photo Workshop, 2nd Edition

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Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-02453-9

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Ginny Felch, as a child of the ’50s, was given a Brownie camera by her father. She was encouraged by his kind compliments about her sensitivity and composition. The beauty and nostalgia of New England as well as Ginny’s mother’s eclectic eye for beauty and her appreciation of art and design were gifts that contributed to her developing eye. Ginny was trained as a wedding photographer after years of studying black-and-white photography. Later, her love for children, spurred by devotion to her son, Zachary, led to an inspired career creating children’s portraits.

Under the name of Virginia Clayton, she exhibited and lectured her way to becoming a Master of Photography through Professional Photographers of America and has been coached by some great photographers, including Marie Cosindas, Morley Baer, Ruther Bernhard, Robert Farber, Sara Moon, and Josef Karsh. Ginny has had speaking engagements across the country and in Europe. In 1990, she visited the Soviet Union while documenting the Heart to Heart Children’s Medical Alliance as part of a group of volunteer doctors and nurses from Oakland Children’s Hospital.

Shortly after returning home from working with parents facing the possibility of losing their children, Ginny endured the tragedy of losing her own 15-year-old son in an automobile accident. Soon thereafter, her home and all belongings were destroyed in the Oakland Firestorm of 1991. This was the beginning of a challenging and courageous journey of healing and discovery. Her survival and reclaimed zest for life were due in no small part to her relationship with her husband, Will, and his family.

When Ginny finally did return to her life as a children’s photographer, she found it all the more poignant and meaningful to be a part of the joy and appreciation of children and life. Ginny is motivated deeply by the moody and sculptural effect of natural light on a myriad of subjects, creating a sense of place and feeling of timelessness. Her children’s portraits are known for those qualities as well as her warmth and ability to connect with and relate to children.

Her philosophy about photography is that the equipment and technology take a back seat to vision, creativity, and passion. Above all, Ginny seeks beauty.

“Beauty has a dignity and poise that takes us beyond our smallness and negativity; beauty brings us in to remembrance. Beauty is the bridge between the real and the ideal. Not everything is beautiful; yet when we develop a graceful and gracious eye, we can find beauty in the most unexpected places.” — John O’Donohue

Credits

Acquisitions Editor

Aaron Black

Project Editor

Chris Wolfgang

Technical Editor

Haje Jan Kamps

Copy Editor

Lauren Kennedy

Editorial Director

Robyn Siesky

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Project Coordinator

Sheree Montgomery

Graphics and Production Specialists

Samantha K. Cherolis

Jennifer Henry

Andrea Hornberger

Jennifer Mayberry

Heather Pope

Quality Control Technician

Jessica Kramer

Proofreading and Indexing

Toni SettleSharon Shock

Acknowledgments

What really touches me and inspires me to no end is the generosity of photographers who have enthusiastically and steadfastly contributed to the energy and content of this book. The feedback they gave me from the first edition provided the wind beneath my wings for the revision. I never stopped thinking about them and my inspiring audience in the process of the revision. My Facebook Group, Photographing Children, has given me years of fun and feedback, and I feel I have many wonderful friends there.

Mary Schannen of Melange Photo (www.melangephoto.com) has been instrumental in supporting this project with her enthusiasm, her boundless energy, and inspiring images. She was one of the original members of the Facebook Page, Photographing Children, with feedback about how the first edition of the book inspired and helped her. Her vast networking with vendors and on Flickr greatly inspired the last chapter on creative post-production. Her passion for photography inspires me.

She brought in Melinda Meredith, who reviewed and suggested updates for much of the technical input in the book. She has one of those amazingly balanced brains that can produce lovely imagery and understand every bell and whistle of her camera.

Kylie Banks contributed helpful assessment of post-production software. Thank you all so much!

When the original publication of Photographing Children Photo Workshop was released in 2008, the vibrant networking fever had just barely begun. Since that time, hundreds of thousands of camera-toting moms across the world have jumped on the bandwagons of Facebook and Flickr to share and improve their photography. I have been very fortunate to have met many of them online and established wonderful relationships with them, watching their children grow before my eyes. Our Facebook contests, where Adobe has generously contributed coveted prizes (Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, and Photoshop), have created the heartbeat of the forum. Watching the elevation of the quality of photography has really been inspiring.

It is daunting to me to see how much these moms can do in one day. Annie Manning nursed her baby to sleep while she emailed me her workflow in Chapter 11 for the deadline! Mary Schannen dealt with snow days, playdates, and dinner parties while helping me come up with some new ideas. Liz Sanford’s photography has improved by leaps and bounds since we met on the Facebook Group, and she never stops moving!

In the meantime, they and many others, are running their own businesses and creating impressive images. My heart and thanks go out to them.

When I first started attending PPA meetings in the ’80s, I was often the only female photographer in the audience. I remember pledging to myself that I would grow to become an influence on other women who had the vision and heart for the work but were not enthusiastic about jumping into the science (like myself!) This has been the gift of writing my books and being part of the whirlwind of mamarazzi photographers. Now I am a proud grandmarazzi and you will see evidence throughout the new edition!

Dedication

For Will, Kristin, Jason, Anahi, and Nico.

Thank you for the love, support, great food, wine, and family vacations! You make my life very rich and sweet.