P#28: Children at the Beach Captured in a Heartwarming Hand-Painted Photograph
Cheryl Dorskind explains how she created this beautiful photograph of children at the beach
Even at first glance you can tell that this photograph of children at the beach is anything but ordinary. How did Cheryl capture such a dramatic, dream-like image? Here she explains what goes into creating such a shot.
A Hand-Painted Memory
Cheryl Dorskind: This photograph of children at the beach is one of my favorites, and for many reasons. First of all, it's hand painted. Hand painting is something I offer to my clients. I take black and white photographs and then I paint them in color with oil. That's what you're looking at here -- a hand painted photograph. (click the image for a larger version)
What I like most about this picture is that it looks so composed, but the story behind it is something entirely different. When I took this shot there were 30 mile an hour winds. I had to photograph the children on this specific day because they lived in Boston and they were leaving.
While they look perfectly natural, there were tarps bordering them to their left and behind - not in view, but to block the wind. I have their father right behind me and he was being a really great assistant, so the children were calm in this situation where the conditions were like pre-hurricane winds.
I really like this shot, and it was the first one I took. It feels so well organized. I often think of doing a book on first shots because you get it the first shot. The rest is just insurance.
In Closing
Sometimes Mother Nature doesn't want to work with you when shooting outdoors. That doesn't mean you give up. Even in chaos Cheryl was able to set a scene of calm and organization, and she was able to capture perfection on the very first shot in this photograph of children on the beach.
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