Portrait Photography How To

Baby Blue
When Shutterbug reader Lucia Staykov noticed her husband was neglecting his Nikon DSLR four years ago, she started using it herself to take pictures of their six children, which includes sets of twins and triplets. Staykov quickly fell in love with photography and realized her passion was, no surprise, photographing children. She now has her own photography business in Adelaide, South Australia, specializing in newborns and children, and admits that the job is “challenging yet very rewarding.”

This striking portrait of one of Staykov’s daughters was captured as she was heading outside to play with her siblings. “The girls were playing with scarfs and hats, and I noticed the gorgeous light in the doorway and I loved the color of the scarf,” Staykov says. “I didn’t direct her too much about her posing, just told her where to stand.”

To capture the shot she used a Nikon D810 DSLR and a Nikkor 70-200mm lens at 170mm, ISO 250, f/2.8, 1/320 second. To see more of Staykov’s work, visit her website, childexpressions.photography.

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