My track record around buying successful Xmas and birthday presents for my wife is not exactly spectacular. So this year I gave it a lot of thought and decided to make her some nice portraits of our 3 boys. I had recently bought some off-camera flash gear (softbox, brolly etc.). I decided to give it a run out at Middle Head Fort.
Now my boys are not really the clean cut “perfect boys” that you often see when you walk into friends houses and you see the professional portraits on the wall with not a hair out of place. I was adamant that I wanted the portraits to really capture the essence of my boys. I think I have accomplished this even though these are not your traditional portrait shots…. dirty feet, disheveled hair etc.
My wife loved her present and the photos are now framed and hanging on the kitchen wall.
At least I got it right this year 😉
Happy New Year to all my photo buddies and readers of my blog.
Brent
Brent Pearson's Photo Journey 
and a happy new year to you 😉 these shots of the boys come out great and glad your wife was happy. gotta keep them happy. especially if we want to buy more gear 😉 i to am loving the strobe work at the moment. the possibilities are endless. have a great new year Brent.
Hey Ian
Thanks for your nice note. Actually I was shooting with somebody this morning who actually mentioned you. Said I should check out your work as you have really improved heaps. I will take a look today.
Glad you are enjoying the strobe work, you might want to check out the workshop that I’m running next Wed night (details are on Australian Strobist group on Flickr). It’s free and combines light painting and strobist stuff.
Brent
Great set of portraits Brent. Good work on delivery the right present… my wife took a couple of mine back today to exchange them for something else 😦 Happy New Year to you too.
Hey Graham
Yup, I’m normally in the same situation… wife returns most of my Xmas presents and then choses something she REALLY wants.
Happy New Year
BP
great portraits Brent, happy new year, heres to working together soon on some workshops, all the best to the family too.
Cheers
CF
I love how you did these portraits. They look so natural. To me there’s nothing I hate worse than posed looking portraits of perfect people.
Thanks Sonny
Yeah, I find it so “false” when I see these angelic portraits.
i’d rather look back at a portrait in 20 years and say… “Yup… I remember what they were like now… thank god they have grown up”
😉
BP