Imani is 8 years old. She has been a professional child model since September 2012. Her two favorite things are who classes at school and her professional dance lessons. She is currently in her 6th year of dance! Imani loves drawing fashion, wearing nice fashion and walking the runway in amazing fashion! She has participated in multiple fashion editorial shoots across the nation. She has also walked in Atlanta’s International Fashion Week. She has modeled over 80 boutique items and won numerous photo contest. Imani’s dream is to one day become a fashion model as well as a fashion gown designer. She is certainly well on her way! Bella Rose Photography
Bella Rose Photography
Harper Photos
Lakyn is a vibrant 9 year old that loves life! She is so honored to be a part of Shining Faces Kids Magazine. She loves Modeling, Acting, Dancing, Singing, Reading and Writing Stories, Cheerleading and playing Tennis. Lakyn is very involved in her community. She participates in many events and fundraisers throughout the year. Although she is very involved and helps out many organizations, the one that she is most involved in is, "Relay for Life". She has her own team, in memory of her brother, called " Team Cody". Lakyn also has a passion for Pageants, where she has held many titles over the past 9 years. She has held the title of National American Miss ( NAM ) Jr Pre Teen "Miss West Virginia", and also PURE American Girl, National Queen. Pageants have given Lakyn the opportunity to speak about her platform and met a lot of wonderful people over the years. Acting has been a big part of her life the past year, she has now been in four films and two commercials so far this past year, and has three more films coming up this spring and summer. She loves staying busy and helping out in her community. She loves school and is a straight A student and is very involved in her school, where she is in her third year of being a part of her school News Team. If you were to ask her what her favorite food is, she would say....Anything Chocolate! Lakyn just loves life and hanging out with her friends and family. Three words that best describe her would have to be: Happy, Fun and Inspiring! Lakyns future ambition is to have her own show called " The Lakyn Show", where she plans to have all her friends be a part of her show!! Dreams do come true!!!! Lakyns Motto is: Love Life and Dream BIG
By: Elena Blair I will admit it. I love head shots of children. I enjoy getting close to kids to capture all the sweet details of their faces. My clients love it too, and I aim to capture head shots during all my shoots. In addition, ninety-five percent of the time, clients buy prints of the head shot images I provide. When you hear the phrase “head shot,” your mind may conjure a boring, stiff image. Well I am here to show you how I approach head shots in children, and how I keep them creative and interesting!
Get intense eye contact.
I love honest images of children. I do not care if they smile, and instead focus on connection. I usually stand in front of them and squat or kneel down at their level. I chat with them about their little lives and allow them to know I am interested and compassionate. I will ask them a question like, “Can you see my eye in the camera?” or, “Do you see a butterfly in there?” This serves to hold their interest, encourages eye contact, and brings more natural expressions.
Show those killer lashes!
Children have incredible lashes, and I love to get photos of them looking down. I often just capture this while we are talking. When kiddos are shy, they often look down. I love the chance to capture this sincere emotion. However, if they are not shy, I ask them to tell me about their cool shoes, or point out something compelling on the ground.
Photograph from above.
I like to lie children and babies down on the ground and then I stand over them straddling them. They usually think this is funny and/or interesting so it often encourages a natural expression. I may have them sit on the ground as I stand above them. I will make a noise or say, “hey, look at the monkey on my head!” which gets them to look directly up at me. I love that perspective!
Looking away.
Remember, they do not need to be looking at you. Some of my favorite head shots are of children or babies who are looking away, often at their Mommy or Daddy.
Encourage goofy expressions.
Kids love to be goofy. I will say, “okay silly time!” or “scream for me!” which often gets a great natural, yet silly face. This can provide variety and offer a window into the true nature of an inherently playful subject.
Tummy head shots. I often lie babies or toddlers on their bellies and then I also lie on my tummy right in front of them. I joke and laugh to encourage them to interact with me. This is a great way to get head shots of the little ones who are on the move or not quite old enough to sit. There you have it! Head shots do not have to be boring. In fact, they are beautiful,fun, and can be an opportunity for some truly creative work!
By: David Peterson Treat Them Like Adults
Whether you’re a professional photographer or if you’re photographing teens at a neighbor’s BBQ, when you pick up the camera, treat your teen subjects like adults. Encourage them through respect and the kids you capture will exude confidence and will be more willing to smile through their braces and freckles and strike a pose. Making them feel like the adults they’re becoming will go a long way in making the shoot an easy and enjoyable one.
Engage them in an Activity
Teenagers have a bad rap for being glued to their electronics. Yet, many of them are still throw-backs to simpler days and hobbies, such as this teenage boy playing the guitar. Before you photograph a teen or a group of teenagers, engage them in a conversation about what they like to do. Basketball? Great! Take them to a court. Hanging out with their friends in the park? Perfect! Head over to the nearest park and get them to climb trees and lay down in the grass. The more relaxed they are in their environment, and with you, the better energy and expressions you’ll see from them.
Do the Unexpected to Lighten Things Up Some kids will be camera shy and not every image of them has to be smiling and face-on. Capturing them doing what they love in an inconspicuous way might just be the ticket to opening them up. It also means getting creative. Show them a shot like this of them on your DSLR, and they’ll be right back on the court hamming it up for the next round of images. With no faces showing, only their love of basketball and competitive nature, they’ll forget the camera is on them and then you can change it up and include their smiles and grimaces.
Attitude about Attire
Let’s face it, parents can’t get kids to change what they wear, and most likely you won’t be able to either. The best thing to do is to let them wear what they want, within reason, of course. First of all, it’s how they are known, so why change that just for a photograph? Don’t you want to capture the real kid, not the phony coat and tie one? Second of all, they’ll be more comfortable in presence and attitude when wearing their favorite clothes and when they’re comfortable, you get better images.
Techno-Teens
Remember that kids these days are used to being photographed a lot more than prior generations. Every cell phone has photo-capabilities; digital cameras have come way down in price. And with the internet, these kids are used to sharing and uploading pictures. So, how does this benefit you? Why can’t they just photograph each other, they’ll ask. There’s still a difference between an Instagram image and one that is taken with a quality DSLR that can control depth of field, shutter speed, and a myriad of other things. This is one reason it’s important to show the kids one of your images on the DSLR display early on. They’ll see the difference between the pictures they upload to Facebook and Twitter from their phones, which are usually grainy, and the ones you’re capturing. Rather than trying to convince them with words, show them a few of the pictures, because as the saying goes, “A picture says a thousand words.” Let the images speak for you.
Have Fun!
Teens usually love to have fun. This is a great opportunity to capture that. Once they loosen up, you may not be able to get them to stop! Naturally, though, not all images need to be of them smiling and laughing. In fact, quite the opposite at times. A pensive or inquisitive look can have the same appeal as a toothy grin. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun capturing it. Let their personality come out. Don’t have a book worm pretend to be a jock or vice versa. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning. - See more at: http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/2670/7-tips-for-photographing-teenagers/ #sthash.QZgtoQah.dpuf
1. Pixlr For a free image editor that lives within your browser (no software download needed), Pixlr is the best free dupe of Adobe Photoshop out there. Pixlr has many of the same functions as Photoshop, and the layout is on-point, complete with a customizable user interface with resizeable and moveable menus. Pixlr even has the same keyboard shortcuts as Photoshop. However, while many of the tools are similar to those in Photoshop, Pixlr's still pale in comparison in terms of capabilities. For instance, be careful not to overdo and layer too many effects -- the result can look really fake really fast. Nevertheless, Pixlr is overall a great image editor as close to Photoshop you're going to get, without paying a cent. You can upload images from your hard drive to edit, open images via URL or even open images from online libraries like your Facebook account. 2. Sumopaint Sumopaint is available online and can be downloaded as an app, as well. You'll find free and pro versions; the former has basic tools enough for simple image editing. Sumopaint is somewhat modeled like Photoshop, but the tools that come with the free version are not as capable as those of the latter. The Symmetry tool creates kaleidoscope-like patterns with ease, and the various Polygon tools make interesting star patterns. While these tools are fun, they may not contribute much to image editing. But Sumopaint still has a load of other features, including basic image editing tools to mimic a watered-down version of Photoshop with mid- to highperforming capabilities. 3. PicMonkey PicMonkey is a web app good for fun photo editing with Instagram-like filters. Similar to other online image editors, PicMonkey offers free and pro versions. Because a lot of basics, such as the curves and burn tools, are not completely available in the free version, PicMonkey is not the greatest editor for in-depth photo editing. PicMonkey has some interesting blemish-fixing tools, including airbrushing, wrinkle-removers and even "mascara" and lip tints. However, as expected, be wary of overuse; the result can easily appear fake and edited. Additionally, PicMonkey has loads of sticker overlays, like mustaches and party hats, as well as a host of borders and textures to easily add flair to your photos. 4. Splashup Splashup (formerly Fauxto) is a simple online image editor good for beginners. You can import photos from third-party libraries like Flickr, Facebook, Picasa or even Photobucket, or upload from your desktop. The Splashup setup is similar to a simplified layout of Photoshop, but with fewer tools. Splashup has basic utilities, but even so, tools like curves, levels, hue and vibrancy are absent. Splashup is good for simple cropping, smudging and otherwise very basic tools for fast and easy touchups on the pixel level. One complaint is that Splashup does not have keyboard shortcuts.
Taryn Addison DeJean - T.A.D. is a vivacious, aspiring model that has taken the runway and fashion industry by storm. Taryn is short, sweet, and sassy with a heart of gold. She has graced the cover of Texas Child Model Magazine, and has made multiple appearances in Child Couture Magazine, Model Life Magazine, Child Model Magazine, and many other magazines, newsprints, calendars, electronic media cover spots, and pageants. She is currently an Official Model of Bentley and Lace Clothing, E Couture Designs, MelissaJane Boutique, It's a Girl Thing Boutique, and many others. She has modeled for many photographers, Flair Photos, Locked Illusions Photography, Christina Valentine Photography, and Texas Child Model photography, with many other engagements scheduled in the near future. She also has become well known in the modeling arena for her Concept Shoots that has won many prestigious awards and listings. Taryn is listed as a model with Book a Face Models (CMM), and Model Life On-Line Modeling. Her specialty is modeling for many boutiques around the United States and her love is walking/performing in runway events for high fashion shows. This creative, vivacious, talented 7 year old has that twinkle in her eye and the confidence to excel to the stars....always striving to Shine Bright like a Diamond.