Little Erika and the Mysterious Stick

It’s always funny how small chidlren are amazed by the simplest of things. In this moment Little Erika was captivated by a small stick she found on the side of the road. I suppose the dandelion head was what caught her attention.

The interesting part of photographing small children is how easily they ignore the camera. There’s no real posing or trying to look good and I don’t have to give any advice. I just put the camera in continous focus and burst mode so I don’t miss any of the subtle expressions while she is running or laughing. In my opinion, natural shots are most of the time better than posing shots. Models are the exception, but for most people I get the best results when they’re not aware of the camera.

As far as this photo goes, I really like how the little blue slippers complement the yellow dress and Erika’s warm skin tones. I also try to fill the frame as much as I can and this obviously achieves that.

The combo used for shooting this was my, now almost 5 year old, Fujifilm X-T20 and the XF 50-140mm F2 lens.