I like that you put the primary focus on working with children and the photography itself,which you of course know, comes second.. I think that's the way to go..
I've been binging your videos lately and I find them very inspiring. Really good, down-to-earth, no-nonsense information from somebody who knows what he's talking about. I really appreciate getting right into the topic and not wasting viewers' time with useless long intros and b-roll. Keep it up!
Hi Martin, I wanted to take a moment and tell you how much I have learned from your UA-cam videos. Mostly, I have come to realize that the latest and most modern cameras and lens do not make the photographer. I am 76 years old. I started with a Yashica years ago that I bought second hand, then bought Peterson's Book of Photography and all the black and white 35mm film I could afford and started shooting. My first DSLR was a Canon XSi 12.2 mp. I actually made money shooting corporate head shots with that camera. I went back and looked at those pictures and after all these years, they still look very good. Now I have a Canon T8i and I don't use the live screen. I can't get away from the optical view finder. I guess old habits are hard to break. Anyway, thank you for your time and your discussions about what real photography is all about. I know it's an art form and one's imagination is the only limitation. I have to comment on one photo you have in one of your videos. It's the little boy standing by the tree looking down toward the ground. That photo is a work of art! It stimulates your imagination and makes you wonder what he is thinking or dreaming about. I really like the large depth of field that help define the entire environment. To me, it's almost 3d like. It reminds me of the great photos taken in the 1860s of our civil war. I think everyone should go back and look at the depth and contrast of those great photos. I only wish I had the skills and knowledge to make great photos like that. I also like the pictures of the horses in the woods you took when talking about the Canon RP. Great job and the best of luck to you and your channel. Thank you, Tom Minnesota USA
Love the look of these photos! I'm going to be doing a shoot for my kids this weekend in the woods. My son with a pokemon trainer theme, my daughter a Rockstar theme.
Hi Martin, The pictures at the beginning of the video are very good. Can i ask how do you changed the color of grass (and the background)? I tried it in lightroom in hsl panel, but the result is always a weird yellowish green color. I could not find any video about editing in your channel. Thank you!
Thank you for this Martin. Invaluable as I have my first Family Portrait shoot tomorrow. They want to shoot indoors and outdoors so I was wondering which metering to go for, spot metering, centre weighted or evaluative ? Thanks hugely again for you output. Nick.
Hi Nick I’d basically always use evaluative and check your histogram for your exposure. Other tips I can give you is make sure skin is well lit. This is really important that doesn’t mean over expose them but make sure they aren’t under exposed. Also expressions and mood are key so assume it takes time for them to settle in but important you don’t make anything cringe or hard for them in order to “make them have fun” I’d start with the outdoor shoot if you can and let the kids burn off some energy. If the kids don’t cooperate you can talk to them and just explain what you are doing and why. Kids actually can understand things like this just as well as an adult so don’t treat them too much like kids. As I type this I realise this could make a good video ?
Love the video! Do you have any tips on shooting special needs children? I have a session coming up with a mom and two special needs toddlers that have a very hard time sitting and are mostly unable to take any direction at all. I know mom wants some posed photos, but I feel like it may be a situation where I mostly capture the kids just playing.
Great insight Martin. Love your environmental portraits you sampled. Very Beautifull and natural. An idea for you would be to make a how to video demonstrating how you get these shots. Thank you for sharing. 🙏🏻
Martin, I feel a little tardy in thanking you for all your common sense videos. Between you and another UA-cam channel, I was inspired to pick up a 6D for a great price here in the states. I wish this video had come out years ago when I was a part time children's photographer! So much good info! I did love shooting environmental portraits and let the kids do their thing instead of "posing" them. I know this is over two years old at this point, but I wonder if you had any pointers about shooting families? Kids were never that hard for me, but getting two or more kids (with a crying baby sister) and two parents to all look happy and in the same direction was my kryptonite. Just like you said, that really had a small window of opportunity before EVERYONE (especially the parents) were losing their patience. So....another video, perhaps?
OK i could do something on that, one tip i have for you though is you really have to get the parents to wear the kids out before the shoot, not exhausted but burn off that initial energy they have. Once you do that its much easier.
@@MartinCastein Thanks for the reply! In my (limited but frustrating) experience, the period between being all wiggly and full of energy and being tired and whiny has been razor thin - and of course, the patience of the parents is not infinite either! ("Smile, dammit!") My problem is that these photos almost always look posed when everyone is looking at the camera. But occasionally you get lucky. Looking forward to more tips from you!
@@DenisMark1 Ah if you are talking about kids looking at the camera, they dont understand why they are there, depends on the age but what I do if they are old enough to understand english is sit down and show them what we are doing and let them take a photo of their parents, and then i tell them its so when they are older there will be a picture of them as they are now. Its surprising how much kids actually understand. If you make everything a game they know they are being tricked. I dont know if that will help you but actually almost treating them as adults works really well ive found.
Wonderful information here 🙏🏻 I am a sony user. I own a 28-75 2.8 tamron but looking to buy a prime lens only to create more blurry BG. I am confused with 35mm or 85mm. May I ask what will be better? I am based in Japan so I plan to capture the beauty of the seasons with my daughter her growing up in this country. Looking for your suggestion :)
either will be good for that, with the 85 it will be more like the 75mm end of your zoom but more zoomed in, you will get more blur but the downside is you cant see so much of the background. The 35 will give you less blur but you can see where you actually are. Id probably opt for the 35 if you want to see the location more. really though i think the lens you have is more than enough to do what you want.
@@MartinCastein thank you martin. Really appreciate your suggestion. This week I hope to buy either of these. Now my next concern is sigma or sony lens. If it’s not too much of a trouble, may I ask what ask what will be your advice for the same.
@@lifeofaTokyoite if you can afford it go for the sony and if not the sigma. I dont think you would go wrong with either though, everyone seems to like the sigma lenses a lot too.
When I’m taking the picture the skin is the only thing I pay attention to for exposure I just make sure it’s bright, I then dodge and burn the rest to balance it as the camera can’t capture what we see then add artistic impression from colour and more dodge and burn as it’s not documentary
What I don't get . We we all listen to what time the best time is because we don't want the sun at its highest ect . We should wait for sunset when the sun is falling . To get better light . Why does everyone when useing flash use the 45 degree angle and 45 degree down . Becouse to me that position is the position that we don't want the sun to be . So why do we get told this when using flash . We get told the same old thing . Up high at 45 degrees. As if it's the sun. But when we talk about the sun , it's lets wait for golden hour ect . I just don't get why we get told to put the flash up high at 45 degrees. When if that was the sun , we would avoid it. I dunno !! ..
Hi Stephen, firstly, well done for asking an actual photography question and its a very good question to ask. The light in the daytime at 45 degrees is too harsh but its the ideal angle. At sunset its much softer which is better and sky overall still gives some top down light and general fill light.
I like that you put the primary focus on working with children and the photography itself,which you of course know, comes second.. I think that's the way to go..
I've been binging your videos lately and I find them very inspiring. Really good, down-to-earth, no-nonsense information from somebody who knows what he's talking about. I really appreciate getting right into the topic and not wasting viewers' time with useless long intros and b-roll. Keep it up!
Hi Stefan, thank you so much! Glad you like my videos!
Hi Martin,
I wanted to take a moment and tell you how much I have learned from your UA-cam videos. Mostly, I have come to realize that the latest and most modern cameras and lens do not make the photographer. I am 76 years old. I started with a Yashica years ago that I bought second hand, then bought Peterson's Book of Photography and all the black and white 35mm film I could afford and started shooting. My first DSLR was a Canon XSi 12.2 mp. I actually made money shooting corporate head shots with that camera. I went back and looked at those pictures and after all these years, they still look very good. Now I have a Canon T8i and I don't use the live screen. I can't get away from the optical view finder. I guess old habits are hard to break.
Anyway, thank you for your time and your discussions about what real photography is all about. I know it's an art form and one's imagination is the only limitation. I have to comment on one photo you have in one of your videos. It's the little boy standing by the tree looking down toward the ground. That photo is a work of art! It stimulates your imagination and makes you wonder what he is thinking or dreaming about. I really like the large depth of field that help define the entire environment. To me, it's almost 3d like. It reminds me of the great photos taken in the 1860s of our civil war. I think everyone should go back and look at the depth and contrast of those great photos. I only wish I had the skills and knowledge to make great photos like that. I also like the pictures of the horses in the woods you took when talking about the Canon RP.
Great job and the best of luck to you and your channel.
Thank you,
Tom
Minnesota USA
Loved this, great tips and advice. Would love to see you taking photos, especially portraits ❤
Love the look of these photos! I'm going to be doing a shoot for my kids this weekend in the woods. My son with a pokemon trainer theme, my daughter a Rockstar theme.
Explained and so much helpful thanks a lot
You are welcome!
Excellent insightful advice from somebody who knows exactly what they’re talking about… and has had firsthand experience! Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for sharing your great experience
Thanks for your kinds comments!
This is awesome, thank you!!
Glad you like it!
Thankyou Martin.
Very interesting and insightful.
Your tutorials are so helpful to me starting out in photography.
Thankyou.
Glad to help!
Hi Martin,
The pictures at the beginning of the video are very good. Can i ask how do you changed the color of grass (and the background)? I tried it in lightroom in hsl panel, but the result is always a weird yellowish green color. I could not find any video about editing in your channel. Thank you!
Thank you for this Martin. Invaluable as I have my first Family Portrait shoot tomorrow. They want to shoot indoors and outdoors so I was wondering which metering to go for, spot metering, centre weighted or evaluative ? Thanks hugely again for you output. Nick.
Hi Nick I’d basically always use evaluative and check your histogram for your exposure. Other tips I can give you is make sure skin is well lit. This is really important that doesn’t mean over expose them but make sure they aren’t under exposed. Also expressions and mood are key so assume it takes time for them to settle in but important you don’t make anything cringe or hard for them in order to “make them have fun” I’d start with the outdoor shoot if you can and let the kids burn off some energy. If the kids don’t cooperate you can talk to them and just explain what you are doing and why. Kids actually can understand things like this just as well as an adult so don’t treat them too much like kids. As I type this I realise this could make a good video ?
@@MartinCastein Hi Martin. Thanks for the advice. Yes, I certainly think it's a good subject for a video. All the best, Nick.
Thank you martin😊
Love the video! Do you have any tips on shooting special needs children? I have a session coming up with a mom and two special needs toddlers that have a very hard time sitting and are mostly unable to take any direction at all. I know mom wants some posed photos, but I feel like it may be a situation where I mostly capture the kids just playing.
thank you, very helpful video tutorials, well done
You are welcome :)
Great insight Martin. Love your environmental portraits you sampled. Very Beautifull and natural. An idea for you would be to make a how to video demonstrating how you get these shots. Thank you for sharing. 🙏🏻
Thanks again at some point I will 🙂
This is a great photo concept and is great. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Thanks David, i need to stop recording videos just after i wake up im so tired in them haha. hope you are well buddy.
@@MartinCastein Yes sir, I am good. I hope you are doing well too. Sounds like you are getting plenty of sleep!😜
Excellent video...very useful tips. Thanks.
Thanks Wajid, glad it was useful
Martin, I feel a little tardy in thanking you for all your common sense videos. Between you and another UA-cam channel, I was inspired to pick up a 6D for a great price here in the states. I wish this video had come out years ago when I was a part time children's photographer! So much good info! I did love shooting environmental portraits and let the kids do their thing instead of "posing" them. I know this is over two years old at this point, but I wonder if you had any pointers about shooting families? Kids were never that hard for me, but getting two or more kids (with a crying baby sister) and two parents to all look happy and in the same direction was my kryptonite. Just like you said, that really had a small window of opportunity before EVERYONE (especially the parents) were losing their patience. So....another video, perhaps?
OK i could do something on that, one tip i have for you though is you really have to get the parents to wear the kids out before the shoot, not exhausted but burn off that initial energy they have. Once you do that its much easier.
@@MartinCastein Thanks for the reply! In my (limited but frustrating) experience, the period between being all wiggly and full of energy and being tired and whiny has been razor thin - and of course, the patience of the parents is not infinite either! ("Smile, dammit!") My problem is that these photos almost always look posed when everyone is looking at the camera. But occasionally you get lucky. Looking forward to more tips from you!
@@DenisMark1 Ah if you are talking about kids looking at the camera, they dont understand why they are there, depends on the age but what I do if they are old enough to understand english is sit down and show them what we are doing and let them take a photo of their parents, and then i tell them its so when they are older there will be a picture of them as they are now. Its surprising how much kids actually understand. If you make everything a game they know they are being tricked. I dont know if that will help you but actually almost treating them as adults works really well ive found.
@@DenisMark1 unless they are between 2 and 3 years old, then yeah good luck with that... haha thats just plain hard.
Sage advice many thanks
Thanks 🙏
Wonderful information here 🙏🏻
I am a sony user. I own a 28-75 2.8 tamron but looking to buy a prime lens only to create more blurry BG. I am confused with 35mm or 85mm. May I ask what will be better? I am based in Japan so I plan to capture the beauty of the seasons with my daughter her growing up in this country. Looking for your suggestion :)
either will be good for that, with the 85 it will be more like the 75mm end of your zoom but more zoomed in, you will get more blur but the downside is you cant see so much of the background. The 35 will give you less blur but you can see where you actually are. Id probably opt for the 35 if you want to see the location more. really though i think the lens you have is more than enough to do what you want.
@@MartinCastein thank you martin. Really appreciate your suggestion. This week I hope to buy either of these. Now my next concern is sigma or sony lens. If it’s not too much of a trouble, may I ask what ask what will be your advice for the same.
@@lifeofaTokyoite if you can afford it go for the sony and if not the sigma. I dont think you would go wrong with either though, everyone seems to like the sigma lenses a lot too.
@@MartinCastein thanks so much Martin🙏🏻
Hey mate thanks for tips. Just wondering how do you expose for the skin only ?
When I’m taking the picture the skin is the only thing I pay attention to for exposure I just make sure it’s bright, I then dodge and burn the rest to balance it as the camera can’t capture what we see then add artistic impression from colour and more dodge and burn as it’s not documentary
Can you make a tutorial mate how you edit pictures like this ? I am having very hard time to achieve this very look 😔
@@ashdep5489 its coming eventually :)
@@MartinCastein hey man, still waiting 😄
In regards to exposing for the “skin” which metering mode do you recommend ? Spot ?
You could I usually just use matrix and take a couple of test shots and look to see skin is well exposed
Do you shoot in burst mode?
Only when they are running about
Do what suits you though, it doesn’t reaally matter
What I don't get . We we all listen to what time the best time is because we don't want the sun at its highest ect . We should wait for sunset when the sun is falling . To get better light . Why does everyone when useing flash use the 45 degree angle and 45 degree down . Becouse to me that position is the position that we don't want the sun to be . So why do we get told this when using flash . We get told the same old thing . Up high at 45 degrees. As if it's the sun. But when we talk about the sun , it's lets wait for golden hour ect . I just don't get why we get told to put the flash up high at 45 degrees. When if that was the sun , we would avoid it. I dunno !! ..
Hi Stephen, firstly, well done for asking an actual photography question and its a very good question to ask. The light in the daytime at 45 degrees is too harsh but its the ideal angle. At sunset its much softer which is better and sky overall still gives some top down light and general fill light.
Tutorial on how to act around children? Who...? Why...? Never mind.