not distracting. Let the coach discipline her. After the 4th or 5th "Sydney please stay in line" jump in and reinforce the discipline.
And, of course, take pictures. But from the bleachers. 'Cause let's face it, my child needs no help in the distraction department.
This was a real challenge. Not just because I was doing my best to be invisible, but for a myriad of reasons. Like having to choose between using a zoom and really pumping up the iso, or sticking with my 50mm so I could make use of the wide 1.8 aperture, allowing me to keep my ISO at around 800. And if I used the 50mm, how to compose around all the clutter of a gym. Not to mention, waiting for pictures that didn't include other kids who's parents I'd just met! Yup, no one wants to be the psycho parent on the first day of class!
So, aside from the parental nail-biting, what did I learn? For starters - if I'm documenting my daughter's firsts in less-than-stellar lighting from 100 ft away while banished to the parental bull-pen, I need to lower my expectations! These are the shots that will make the family scrapbook, but not win any visual awards. And that's more than fine to this Momtographer!
But still, I always want to do my best when it comes to my camera. So if I keep my eyes open for opportunities that make visual impact, it's likely I'll find one or two that are less than horrible. In the pictures below, amidst the clutter of the gym, I waited for my daughters tiny silhouette to line up with a space of blank wall - it was her only hope of standing out! It also helped to convert the photos to black and white - they're much more forgiving when it comes to mismatched colors and even iso grain.
The bottom line? Our little champion has a long road ahead, but she's showing definite enthusiasm! And her mommy still has a long way to go to figure out how to get great shots from the bullpen, but I'm happy I was there to document such a fun first. And as to the parental push and pull, well, I've got no answers there, but wow, are these muscles sore!
