Creating fine art children portraits can be challenging when you have a high-energy five-year-old girl. But, Isabel had so much fun during her recent family portrait session, she decided she wanted a fine art portrait session of her own!

With the Oregon winter weather upon us, we decided to take Isabel’s portrait session indoors. We used a wide variety of backgrounds, some creativity brought by Isabel’s mom, and a bit of color theory to create a nice variety of images for Isabel.

And while all of the images were designed to bring out Isabel’s personality, we also sought to create some fantastical images that transported Isabel to an imaginary land.

Isabel wanted to be photographed in a blue dress. And I suggested that we take that up a notch by incorporating some color theory. Color theory can take a fine art portrait to a different level. But it can also make a big difference in other pictures too, including high school senior portraits, family pictures, and professional headshots. Do you remember that color wheel you studied in elementary school? It’s worth pulling one our (or at least finding one online) before your next portrait session!.

In Isabel’s case, I knew that oranges and yellows would work well against blue clothing because they are complementary colors. The evening before Isabel’s session, I found a six dollar bouquet of yellow roses at our local Fred Meyer store. I knew they would make the perfect addition to her outfit, and would also give something for Isabel to hold during her portrait session

Of course, we also used the yellow roses as props later in the portrait session as well. Here, we created a high-key photograph of Isabel where we took images of her wearing a white dress against a stark white background. And, no, It didn’t take too long before Isabel began plucking every petal off the flower!

After the portrait session, the images we made offered me a chance to add some creative edits in the post-production process. Specifically, the simple backgrounds and studio lighting provided an opportunity to hand paint several of the images. I really enjoy this opportunity to merge the arts of painting and photography.

And of course, I always make time to let kids just be kids. At Isabel’s request, we had some “Alvin and Chipmunks” playing in the studio during our portrait session. She had a blast when mom handed her the microphone! She stood on top of a wooden apple box in the studio and just started rocking out as only a 5-year-old would do!

Isabel is also a bit of a photography buff. She grabbed her camera and we took some shots of both of us photographing the other.

She also wanted to have a princess tea party with her favorite doll.

Isabel may have the heart of a princess, but that doesn’t mean she’s afraid to get dirty! She jumped at the chance to let me rub soot all over her face and create some dramatic back and white images of her just being a strong-willed, confident, dirty” kid.

Are you looking for unique fine art portraits for your child? Or has it been a while since you’ve updated your family portraits? Click here to learn more about fine art and family portrait sessions with Brian Pasko Photography!