The Train Stop

Photographing children – or in this case, two children and a teenager – can be elevated or differentiated with a story or a set/location.

Three sisters were my subjects.  In the age of COVID-19, I suggested they and their mother first meet me at a train stop that was now seeing a fraction of the stop’s previous volume.  I wanted to create just a brief moment of story and capture closeup portraits as well.  This was the first leg of my mission – the second, an upcoming post, being one conducted strictly with vintage lens.

Now, to be clear, the girls were very excited about the shoot but I asked them to first begin with utter boredom.  Boredom and excitement are both common emotions at any airport or train station.  The girls quickly slipped into character.In the first five minutes of shooting, the middle lass (the youngest, age 9), decided she’d be so bored that she’d be taking a nap when the train arrived. Ah, but far down the tracks in our imaginary world, she “awoke” and began to see the train…Alas, the train could now be seen in the distance!  I was struck by how the middle sister, age 11, perfectly framed the images below, as well as how happy the girls became.  (Their mother kindly walked further down the tracks, instantly piquing the girl’s interests and emotions.)

Each of these young ladies is a marvel.  I was able to photograph them individually and decided to combine the frames into a triptych.Here are some stunning portraits of each of them. The images in this set were taken with 50mm and 135mm lens.  First, the 50s…

When I photograph people – kids or adults – I try to have a few shots in mind as a goal (sometimes many shots!) and then often leave things to my instincts, the suggestions of the subject or to serendipities.

The vintage case was borrowed by the childrens’ mother and offered a nice visual prop. It reminded me a bit of an Annie Liebovitz shoot of Sean Connery for Louis Vuitton.

Finally, here are closeups of each of the young ladies.

Thanks for your time. You can find out more about me on this website.  I’m Scott Edwards, a hybrid (digital, modern and vintage lens, and a little bit of film) photographer who shoots portraits, lifestyle, commercial and fine art photography. I gladly, thankfully shoot for individuals, families, businesses and organizations.  

All images copyrighted. (C) Scott Edwards, 2020.