Boy in Wading Pool Portrait Photo – Muskoka Gravenhurst Bracebridge Photography

This sure has been a hot summer in Muskoka! Fortunately we have lots of great ways to cool off around here. Gravenhurst and Bracebridge has been parched this season so it’s nice to have many nearby places to soak in the water and sun all at once – and most of those places are ideal for taking photos too! My boys have always been drawn to water. Any puddle, pond or wading pool is an instant playground. They’ve spent countless days with me around the water enjoying fishing, canoeing, swimming or simply splashing around in wading pools. This candid portrait photo shows one of the boys being a happy little Otter paddling around in less than a foot of water.

Taking candid portrait photos in and around water on sunny days can be tricky due to the glare but when the weather, location or time of day is just right water can gently reflect light nicely onto faces. In future posts I’ll share more examples of this from our many canoe and fishing outings.

Getting photos like this one of my son in a wading pool makes candid portrait photography the most fun and rewarding. I won’t stage, pose or force the shot but will observe and hunt for it while letting events unfold naturally. Since there is no predetermined formula or repetitive routine to fall back on it makes photography challenging, interesting and the results more creative and one-of-a-kind.

My ultimate goal in portrait photography is to capture images that call attention to the subject first and foremost. While I quietly work at shooting the photos, and in preparing the finished photo too, I always remember the subject is the star – not me! If however a photo, or the photo session, immediately and loudly calls attention to the photographer, their techniques, methods, posing, staging, wardrobe, props, heavy handed processing etc, then I consider it a failure. Those sorts of photos overshadow and upstage the subject by using people as mere props to show off the photographer.

Taking a gentle, low-key and subtle approach to photography, for the purpose of creating photos with greater impact and meaning for the client, is where I feel most comfortable and it seems most clients feel far more comfortable with that approach too. With candid child portrait photography it’s by far the best way to get great shots – or at least, the only way I’m interested in working to get those shots.

In Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, and within a reasonable distance, I don’t charge travel or booking fees for child portrait sessions, proofs are always free too, and I don’t require any commitment to purchase photo packages. I simply shoot, do my best to get the shots you’d like, and then let you decide what the work is worth.  It couldn’t be easier to try out a photo session!

At times I get overly busy with requests and bookings so am not always able to schedule additional sessions. if you’re interested in having a child portrait session arranged for a specific day, such as during a planned party, sport, activity or event, please contact me as early as possible so I can reserve that day and time for you.