For the Abbot Kinney festival, it was our second year in a row donating our services and creating the “Festival Photo Booth” as a funraising tool for Inside Out Arts – a great program that heads up art initiatives in underpriveledged communities. Check them out at: http://www.insideoutca.org. The cost for a quick session was a $10 donation to Inside out Arts and we gave everyone a free 5×7 print and online viewing gallery.
I absolutely LOVED shooting this day! We lugged 3 bales of hay and a bunch of pumpkins two blocks to create our set – but it was so worth it! The light we created was gorgeous, and even though I took a strobe light with me, I ended up shooting natural light the entire day. This day was especially fun for me because I got to photograph a lot of older kids – parents seem to get bored of their kids by about 2-3 years old and they bring them less frequently for photos! The really fun part about shooting 4 year olds and up is that they really show their personalities, shyness and interests during my shoot with them. I get such a thrill out of a shy child coming to my set and then coaxing them into sitting down and telling me about themselfes and the things they like. FYI, the two sure fire things that get every kid fired up are talking about candy and ice cream…. maybe because those are two things that get me fired up too and I like to talk about them with kids….!) I loved all the expressions I got out of the kids – check them out: serious faces, shy faces, giggles, boredom – it was hillarious! If you can imagine – we are right there in the middle of rides, the kiddy stage, the petting zoo… and there I am asking a kid to sit still and give me some genuine emotion – it was tough work. The entire day was a thrill for Sabrina and I – Sabrina held down the fort at the studio most of the day, but she took some photos while I was relieved for lunch (check out both of our “in action” behind the scenes shots.) We’ve been told that over 150,000 people came out for the festival… go Venice!
