Gate open

It was a fun challenge to do graduation portrait, something I've never done before. My niece M was a natural model and very certain + she had the idea ready - the ballet theme should be included! So that part made easy! The challenge was then to find the locations just by sneaking out of the party held in their apartment in a small town suburb. Her cousins, my nephew & niece teamed up with us and helped a lot and we ventured a few spots nearby, from garden to playground. I did all with the 50mm but figured a good zoom lens would have been easier. Maybe one day.

Loads of pictures and hard to choose one. But I liked this one.

Notes to myself:
- Always use a tripod with the 50mm (no stabilizer) if possible.
- The reflector was amazingly helpful on a cloudy day. Keep on using it.
- When you use a tripod, trust the shallow dof - I think I missed something by not going more wide open.
- Try to think more about the framing when shooting.
- Look for details in the picture e.g. in the background.

Edit: One more note. The location doesn't have to be "fancy". The everyday surroundings give the portraits a whole another meaning because it's so essentially part of the person. Like in this case the gate leading out of the playground of the house where she grew up.