Well, the title of this post describes a lot… It literally describes what’s going on in this photo, but it also appropriately tells the story of what’s happened with the photo in the 14 months since we first shared it on our website.
In February of 2012, I created this image, and posted it to this blog for Valentine’s Day. Since then, this photograph has gained incredible popularity, and has been shared all over the world! Don’t believe me? Take a look at the amount of times that original post’s image has been re-pinned on Pinterest– a whopping 78,000+ times!!! Great, right? Well… sort of.
Photographers these days have to contend with the ever-changing and growing presence of digital images, social media, and the internet. Not a problem Ansel Adams lost much sleep over, I’m sure. I’m often asked why my studio holds on so tightly to the digital files we create… other photographers give them out like candy! Well, there are a lot of reasons having to do with quality control and other factors that are really important to us. We watermark any image that goes online to protect it, and for credit, of course! That brings me back to the “kisses” photo.
I love the popularity this photo has gained. I consider it a huge compliment! However, in not wanting to hurt the image, I put my name and watermark at the bottom of the image… my mistake. In too many instances to count, the copyright has been cropped out, and the image has been shared and used without giving me proper credit… in many cases (seriously, I have a list), other photographers or organizations have even put THEIR logo or brand on the image! Whaat? Now THAT is stealing! I even know of a few photographers who have used this image to advertise their studio! One organization that has altered the image and put it on Facebook has had their version shared over 120,000 times! An iPhone app is even using it to market!
No, I do not spend hours searching the web for misuse of my image. Thankfully, I have more cute babies to photograph :) But some amazing people– some whom I’ve never even met have taken the time to alert me. So let me know if you see it floating around somewhere, and I’ll just ask whoever it is to please use this new version with my name! After all, let’s give credit where credit is due.
The question of what to wear for a photo session is one of the most common questions we get at our studio. We talk about keeping it simple, about staying within the “same box of crayons,” and about how a family can coordinate without matching. But when it’s one kid or baby being photographed by himself, the question often becomes HOW MANY outfits to use. To this, I often recommend keeping the outfit changes to a minimum, as it can often make a kiddo fussy, or interrupt the momentum of our interactions and the fun & flow of the session. Parents often show up with nearly every item from the kids’ closet, and ask me to choose. I think the kids should look like THEM! Pick something that will remind you of what they looked like at that particular age. Picking two different looks? Take advantage of the wardrobe change, if there is going to be one… Go with something totally different! Something you’ve been saving… or you wanted the excuse to buy. Baby H here is a perfect example… At 7-months (one of my favorite ages to photograph), he gave me a variety of fantastic expressions to capture… but since he’s not yet running, climbing and hiding from me, transforming his look and the feel of the photos via a location and wardrobe change gave the parents more looks to choose from. Instead of being the same baby, in the same location, in different clothes… this little guy basically had two sessions in one! … Two locations? That’s even trickier than two outfits. I wouldn’t dare put a baby in the car after 20 minutes of photos and expect him to be ready to go in a new location… but in this case, we were able to take advantage of the exterior and interior spaces of my studio to accomplish our goal! Take a look at Baby H’s photos… how cute is he?!?
I have always felt more comfortable behind the lens rather than in front of it, and my family often mocks my inability to smile naturally in pictures… so I was a little nervous about how our engagement photos were going to turn out. I had no doubts that Kim is a great photographer, but would I be able to “perform” rather then help her with the lighting?
I now realize that I had nothing to worry about. Kim has the ability to make anyone feel comfortable in front of the camera and capture the real moments that show who her subjects are, rather than making them look posed and stiff. I have seen her do this time and time again with couples, families, kids, babies, teenagers, new parents, and even pets… why should this time be any different? It wasn’t. Jeff and I had such a good time and could not be happier with how our pictures turned out, so thanks Kim! We can’t wait to see what crazy ideas you come up with for our wedding photos!
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As a part of our Mother’s Day Mini Sessions held yesterday in conjunction with Breakfast Club (see our earlier blog post about the event & organization), we had the pleasure of taking this 4-generation photo… how special is that?!?
This little cutie has to be one of the most smiley babies Kim has photographed… she even giggled every time she saw a new photo of herself at her parents’ ordering session. When Kim saw the large velvet print that baby G’s parents ordered of the above picture, she loved it so much that she wants to order one to hang here in the studio! So keep your eyes out for a new sample on the wall here at Kim Ponsky Photography! In the meantime, enjoy a few more of our favorite shots from the session below.
