You're Right, Babysitting Is Dangerous

The lovely smiling model you see on the left is Alexia, and this is our story.  Yesterday I found myself in a situation that, to be totally honest, I've never found myself all that comfortable with.  I was, insert ominous music, The Babysitter!  I was actually more of a curious observer as my lovely assistant did more of the actual babysitting, while I stood around pretty much looking like a lost fish out of water.  My only previous experience in babysitting was a New Year's Eve about 25 years ago.  I've never seen the two kids since, but I'm told that they survived their ordeal.  So, what to do when you find yourself watching a very active almost two-year old?  Grab the camera and shoot away.  I don't really have that much experience taking photographs of young children, and I though this would be a great opportunity to grab a few hours of experience.  However, after a few minutes of trying to convince a very active child to "sit still and smile" provided to be about as effective as telling me to "get off the couch and take a walk", it was time to change gears.  I figured that if I just stuck close by and let her act naturally, she would get used to seeing the camera in my hands and everything would work out in the end, like an episode of Scooby-Doo. Very shortly, I went from dealing with a youngster that would quickly look away whenever I got close with the camera to photographing a seasoned model who had a wider range of emotional poses than most Academy Award winning actresses.  I ended up with what I, and most importantly the mother and father, think are some pretty great shots.  I didn't use any flash in any of these shots as I didn't want to potentially frighten my model.  After the amount of time it took getting her used to the camera, I figured it wouldn't be in my best interest to be flashing a bright light in her eyes.  So, I repositioned a few pieces of furniture that she liked sitting in and generally tried to keep her in rooms that had a good amount of sunlight.  It also meant upping the ISO as shooting at ISO 100 just wasn't giving me fast enough speeds to get the shots I wanted.  The first shot you see at the very top of this post, which I feel was the best one of the day, was taken at f/5, 1/125sec, ISO 400 at 58mm.  We have a very comfy round chair that I put Alexia in.  After crawling around inside of it for a few seconds, she found a comfortable position and then turned her head with the great smile you see in my photograph.The second shot was taken at f/2.8, 1/50sec, ISO 400 at 68mm.  This one was taken near the end of our time together and she was pretty much used to my camera by then.  We were sitting on the couch and she climbed up right next to us.  Shot number three was taken at f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 800 at 55mm.  This one was taken a little bit after lunch as she was enjoying a post meal drink of milk.  That's something I can sure understand.  She had made her way into the bedroom and was resting her elbows on the bed while taking a drink. The fourth photograph was taken at f/5, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 62mm.  I really like this one as well.  She was sitting on a decorative tin next to our sliding patio doors with the afternoon light coming in on her.  The light was cut a bit by the window blinds, but they kind of added to the drama of the shot.  In reality, there was no drama at all, she was just looking out the window.  However, with the way that the light lands on her, and the shadows that were created by her body and the blinds, it kind of feels like she's a little bit sad.  Where's that Oscar that I was talking about?  Shot number five, the upside down shot, is quickly becoming one of my favourites.  I took a similar shot with my cousin's newborn back at Christmas and I figured I'd give it another shot here.  For those of you with short memories, or who wish to see those pictures as well, you can find them in the post titled Newest Family Member.  While Alexia was laying on the bed, I quickly moved around to the other side and shot a couple of fast frames.  This one was taken at f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 1600 at 68mm.  As with most of the shots I take at ISO 1600, I was worried about there being an excess of camera noise in the shot, but there was none that can be noticed unless you zoom in incredibly close to a size that would never be used in printing anyway.  For the sixth photograph, I shot at f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 1600 at 48mm.  The story behind this photograph centers around making the bed.  As my lovely assistant would wave the bed sheets in the air, Alexia would shoot one arm up to follow the movements of the sheets.  Every time a sheet would go up, so would her arm, and the natural smile came with it.  The final shot of this album, and another of my favourites (aren't they all) was taken at f/2.8, 1/100sec, ISO 400 at 67mm.  This one was also taken around lunch time as she was walking around trying to find the pieces of poor Mr. Potato Head that she had thrown on the ground earlier.  At the end of the day, I think I can chalk this experience up as a success.  I had a great time, my model was in great spirits and everything seems to have gone well.  A lesson learned here was to not take out the camera right away and just expect the child to be ready to pose.  It's important to play a bit with the child and let them get to know you.  All of the shots you see here on this page were taken after lunch, and after she had been with us for a couple of hours.  The smiles came much easier and were also much more natural when she felt comfortable around us.  As a result, I think that I not only captured some nice photographs of Alexia, but also captured her personality in them as well.  One thing is for sure, I had to have some quick fingers while spinning the dials of my camera to make sure I had the right speed for the shots.  See Mom and Dad, playing all of those video games when I was a kid ended up being good for me after all.  I never would have gotten these shots if we never owned that Atari 2600.  That brings an end to my adventure in babysitting.