Josiah's Birthday Pictures

After a busy few months, I finally got around to taking Josiah’s birthday pictures. Aside from our family Christmas picture (currently on our blogger profile) I had never shot portraits on our property. As I suspected, it posed a few challenges to this amateur. J I tend to rely on shade to soften lighting since I don’t have any fancy equipment. Well, shade is hard to come by out on the Texas prairie, especially in the spring when most of the trees haven’t completely leafed out yet.

 

Josiah and I searched and found a few shady spots where we could shoot. We still had trouble with filtering sunlight, which created some exposure problems. But thankfully he’s just a little boy, and not super picky about a few bright spots in the photos (yet. J)

 

Josiah very specifically wanted to wear his cowboy outfit for the photos. This guy has taken his role as a Texan very seriously. J I love this close-up shot of him.

 

All duded up.

Josiah did NOT like sitting in this ditch, but after ensuring there were no snakes or spiders lurking, sat still for a few moments to oblige the photographer. J

I love this picture, but the location wasn’t the best. We were actually standing in the middle of a poison ivy patch. :-P Genius, right? I felt like a bit of an idiot, because I saw the vines and knew what it was. Josiah was fine because he had on long pants and boots, but I was in flip-flops. I figured I’d be fine, because I am pretty sure I’m not allergic to poison ivy (having romped in woods and fields my whole life without ever having a case of it.) But about an hour after we took the photos, my ankles started to itch and a couple of red welts rose up. It didn’t bother me that much, but I’m not sure I should test my luck again!

 

We had to keep our photo session fairly short, as the little guy was getting hot and flushed wearing all his gear in the 85-degree heat. But I enjoyed having the opportunity to shoot with him, and I’ve learned a few good spots for future photos!