Portraits in the Selfie Age

By Jenn Gidman
Images by Felipe Prieto

Today’s kids know how to work the spotlight. Felipe Prieto uses his Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 G2 and 70-180mm F/2.8 zooms to capture them.

Felipe Prieto’s photography journey began not in the Philadelphia studio where he now sets up shop, but at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in his native Colombia, where he first took the leap into filmmaking in 2015. His art initially concentrated on movies, and on bringing to life his mission of helping people understand the world around them.

“I had a well-established business in Bogota, and over the next few years I expanded it to include portraiture,” Felipe says. “I mainly photographed adult subjects, especially actors. When I came to the States in 2019, however, my first clients were two girls, and that shifted much of my focus from adults to kids. I realized I enjoyed taking children’s portraits and getting to see the family evolve over the years.”

The work suits Felipe, and it shows in his portraits, which he supplements with architectural, advertising, and fine-art photography. “The mom of those girls has told me that what she appreciates most about my work is that I’m able to show her daughters in their most authentic light,” he says. “I also love working outdoors. Kids seem to be more relaxed when they’re not constrained by studio walls.”

For his portrait sessions, Felipe uses the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 DI III VXD G2 and the 70-180mm F/2.8 DI III VXD telephoto zooms. “When I switched to a Sony mirrorless camera system two years ago, I did lots of research on which lenses to buy,” he says. “I picked up the 70-180mm first, because I was going on a trip and wanted a lens with a versatile range of focal lengths. The F/2.8 minimum aperture also appealed to me, because I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about lighting conditions as much. Now, for portraits, I use this lens when I want to create a more intimate photo.”

Next, Felipe acquired the 28-75mm. “I wanted a lens that was a little more playful,” he says. “It allows me to include much more of the environment. Plus, both lenses feature super-fast autofocus with Sony’s eye-tracking function, which makes it much easier to photograph kids who move around a lot.”

FELIPE’S QUICK TIPS

Meet the kids beforehand.
Even if it’s just a video call, it’s important to touch base before your session so you can gauge each child’s personality. Are they a little shy? Do they like to play it up in front of the camera? Knowing these details helps me plan out the session, from scouting for locations I think they’ll be interested in, to how I’m going to approach photographing them.

Make sure the kids are dressed comfortably.
After an initial meeting with the children and their parents, I break out a wardrobe guide I’ve put together on what registers well, because not everything looks good on camera. But just as important as looking good is that the kids feel good in what they’re wearing, whether it’s something dressy or casual.

28-75mm, 75mm, F/2.8, 1/640 sec., ISO 250

Sometimes I’ll combine advertising client work with my portraiture. I have a client that makes colorful boots, and so I recruited a few young subjects to model them. They were very excited. That was an example of a half-portrait/half pro client shoot where I got to meld those two worlds together.

28-75mm, 28mm, F/2.8, 1/4000 sec., ISO 400

28-75mm, 28mm, F/2.8, 1/1250 sec., ISO 250

28-75mm, 28mm, F/4.0, 1/640 sec., ISO 400

Prepare your poses.
I have a guide I’ve put together in PDF format that I send to the parents before our session. The guide features various simple poses, so that Mom and Dad know what we’re going to be doing, and so they can even practice some of the “moves” with the kids beforehand. That way, on the day of the shoot, they already know what I’m going to ask them to do. All I need are some minor tweaks. It keeps everything wonderfully uncomplicated.

70-180mm, 135mm, F/4.5, 1/500 sec., ISO 800

70-180mm, 100mm, F/3.5, 1/640 sec., ISO 500

Tap into the familiarity that modern-day kids have in front of the camera.
It seems a lot easier these days than it was even a decade or two ago to help kids—especially tweens and teens—relax in front of the camera. You have to realize this is a generation that has grown up posing for selfies on their smartphones, for platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. So if you get the sense that your subjects like to ham it up in front of the camera, ask them to show you their “best side.” They’ll likely be more than happy to oblige, everyone will loosen up, and you’ll capture natural, authentic portraits where the kids will feel like they have agency in the shoot.

28-75mm, 35mm, F/2.8, 1/640 sec., ISO 250

To see more of Felipe Prieto’s photos, check out his Instagram.