Swift - Storytelling portrait photography: how to document the lives of children and families

I dedicate this book to my husband Chris who believed in my talent as a photographer when we first met in college as communications majors. He stood behind me through my career as a photojournalist and supported my decision to open a child and family portrait photography studio. I would like to thank him for being there for me every step of the way. I also would like to thank my three boys Ryan, Trevor, and Logan for being my daily inspirations and for dealing with my camera from the moment they entered this world. If it werent for them, I would not be the photographer I am today.

Paula Ferazzi Swift

Copyright 2017 by Paula Ferazzi Swift

All rights reserved.

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

Published by:

Amherst Media, Inc., P.O. Box 538, Buffalo, N.Y. 14213

www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

Editors: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt and Beth Alesse

Acquisitions Editor: Harvey Goldstein

Associate Publisher: Kate Neaverth

Editorial Assistance from: Ray Bakos, Rebecca Rudell, Jen Sexton

Business Manager: Adam Richards

ISBN-13: 978-1-68203-149-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016945445

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Image by Christopher Swift

P aula Ferazzi Swift, M. Photog., Cr., CPP, is a Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman, Certified Professional Photographer, and an international, award-winning photographer working in the Boston metropolitan area. She specializes in the art of capturing images of children, their families, and relationships of couples. Paulas professional photography studio is in Sudbury, MA.

Photography has been Paulas passion ever since she was a child, as she was the subject of many photos taken by her older sister, a photojournalist. She received her first manual camera and introduction to its magical world at age thirteen. Later, she received two college degrees in photography. Paula received an A.S. in Visual Arts-Photography and B. S. in Communications Media-Photography. She worked as a staff photojournalist at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette for ten years. After having had her first son in April 2003, Paula decided on a new path into the world of children and family portraiture.

Paula is a nationally-recognized photographer for her published work in newspapers and magazines. She has been nominated for and won several national and international awards including the recognition of her and the photography staff at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette as finalists for the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography for their coverage of the Worcester Warehouse fire that killed six Worcester, MA, firefighters. Paula has won National Press Photographers Association and New England Associated Press Editors Association awards for her photojournalism work, as well as local advertising awards for her photography. She is a member of such professional organizations as the Professional Photographers of America, Professional Photographers Association of Massachusetts, and American Society of Photographers.

In 2009 Paula was the recipient of the Hallmark Award for best color portrait. She was also presented the Kodak Gallery Portrait Award for the highest scoring portrait print, judges choice ribbon, and three blue merit ribbons at the Professional Photographers Association of Massachusetts annual print competition, 2010 through 2016. Her work was recognized and awarded the highest honor of Loan Collection and General Collection at the Professional Photographers of America International Photographic Competition. Recently, Paula Swift Photography was featured by CBS Boston as one of the best Boston Family Photographers. Paula continues to grow her craft by attending professional photography seminars and workshops, and she is currently sharing her knowledge by speaking at seminars and authoring books.

Her work has been published in a variety of publications, including The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Times, Time, Newsweek, USA Today, and Esquire.

In 2015, Paula Swift began teaching other photographers about newborn photography and storytelling portrait photography. She also speaks throughout New England on her photojournalism experience and how she incorporates that unique career into her everyday portrait photography work.

Paula, who grew up in Longmeadow, MA, currently lives in Framingham, MA with her husband Chris and their three sons Ryan, Trevor, and Loganher inspirations.

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A family of four, with a three-year-old and one-year-old, hired me to photograph them on a fall afternoon. The little one-year-old girl needed some time to warm up to me. So I started with the family sitting down in a field and had the big brother who was three years old try and tickle her as mom and dad did, too. What worked perfectly was when big brother took a long piece of grass to engage his little sister. Everyone was smiling and giggling in the moment. I love that they werent looking at the camera during this family moment. Late afternoon light was filtered by light cloud cover, which was perfect for this open-sky session.

SPECS > Canon Mark III with 135 2.0 lens at second, F3.5, and ISO 400.

Once the little girl and family were comfortable with me, laughs and smiles were abundant during their fall session. We had about an hour of nice light left. The sun peeked through the back of a Japanese maple, adding warm fall colors on a day when the seasons foliage had not quite turned in this New England location. I love capturing genuine smiles that families share during their sessions.