1% inspiration, 99% moving furniture

I like the Arnold Newman quote I have at the end of this blog. Good photography is 1% inspiration and 99% moving furniture. In this case, I took that to heart. The red ottoman seemed like such a great piece to build a shot around. But it just didn't stand out enough in the room. Outside, the (quiet!) road was covered in white crushed granite and seemed to be a perfect backdrop. The parents were thankfully on board with the idea too. (Really the street was very quiet!) We spent a bit of time clearing fallen leaves from the the background and set things up under a bright, cloudy sky which gave really soft, even light. I had the parents jumping around behind my head, rattling keys, clapping and generally trying to attract his attention. I like the mostly bemused expression in this one more than some of the happier shots we got - seems to suit the mood. One thing that's changed in the last year with my photography has been a bit more motivation to follow through on ideas. This is a shot that I might have thought about a year ago, but not even mentioned. It was a whole lot fun, quick, painless and certainly worth making the effort.