Damian - A Wizard is Born | Brittany Lynn Imagery LLC
When your parents are huge Harry Potter fans and the decide to book newborn photos, you better believe they're going to be magical!
I was so excited to have this wand made for their session as a client gift and the story behind it is hilarious!
As soon as they booked their session, I called my brother-in-law Kurt and asked him to make me a custom Harry Potter wand for their client gift. He was on board and super excited, even though he had no clue who it was for. Well, it turns out he knows Jarod and that night, while playing Xbox together, Jarod asked him for a custom wand to use as a prop for their session. The next day, Kurt asked me if the wand I requested was for someone named Jarod and of course, I laughed and said yes! When he told me that Jarod asked him for one as well, I was even more happy because I knew they would love it! But what should Kurt tell him in the meantime!?
Well, honestly, I told him to just ignore him and change the subject every time he asked... and it worked! Let me tell you... that was a pretty funny story to tell once they opened their gift!!
Little Damian was born five days before our session and I got to visit him in his home and capture some precious images of him and his parents. And seriously, when I say big Harry Potter fans, I think I'm under exaggerating a bit! They LOVE Harry Potter! So much so that before he was even born, during booking, his dad Jarod sent me a photo of the adorable little onesie with his name in the classic Harry Potter font and I knew we were going to have some fun with this!
The day after Shutterfest ended, I drove out to St. Louis to shoot in the comfort of their home and I brought with me some supplemental lighting to brighten things up a bit (I know - Brittany used artificial lighting!? Say what!?).
When I touched base about the session and where exactly we would be shooting, Jarod and Ashlee informed me that we would be working in a room with no windows and, if I'm being honest, the natural light photographer in me panicked a bit. Luckily, though, I had an opportunity to talk it out with them and we decided supplemental lighting would be the wisest idea instead of using the lighting in the room (and I've got plenty because hellooo wedding receptions!).
Something interesting about lighting that photographers (and artists in general, really) are always aware of is the temperature. So when it came to choosing which lighting we were going to use, we had to choose either available light or supplemental light but I couldn't work with both. The lighting that they have in the room (and most lighting in homes in general) was tungsten which has a yellow-orange tone and my lighting is all 5500K which is closer to the blue end of the lighting spectrum and if you remember anything from art class, you know that blue and orange are opposites on the color wheel which just spells out lighting headache to photographers!
But here's the catch: I brought three lights & stands but could only fit one in the room! When I say this space was small, that is no joke! And it wasn't the room itself; if you're a parent, you know how spoiled babies can be and his cute little room was full of gifts, books, and other things all for him! *queue heart eyes* But honestly, it was super easy to work with and throughout the entire process we were all in clear communication of what expectations could be as a result of the setting and honestly, I LOVE these images of Damian!
This sweet baby was seriously the stuff dreams are made of! His perfect little toes, fingers, lips, cheeks, GOSH I could go on and on! He and his parents are such a beautiful family and I am so happy I got to spend this time with them and make these memories! Just days later, I'm sure he is already changed so much because, again, if you're a parent, you know how quickly they grow and change!
Thank you so much, Jarod and Ashlee for welcoming me into your home and letting me be a part of these early days with you! This was so special to me and I loved every minute of being there with you all!
