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As portrait photographers, my wife and I spend a lot of time on set up shots. Backgrounds, lights, and subjects can be meticulously posed. But where we really like to spend our time is on the photojournalistic side of things.

The candid nature of these types of shots lets the personalities of your subjects shine the way a set up portrait can’t. And the key to getting great shots is to always be at the ready, never put your camera down or turn it off, and always keep your finger on the shutter!

Spring is a big time here in central Texas for photographers. The bluebonnet flowers are everywhere, and everyone wants pictures of their kids in the fields of flowers. We were commissioned to do a shoot of this eight month old in a small field of bluebonnets. We did some shooting, he got a little cranky, and mom picked him up to give him a break. Being the little monkey he is, she swung him upside down. At that very instant, he farted.

Right in her face.

It was hilarious. Luckily, I was at the ready and had just a split second to capture that moment before it was gone. I got the shot and we went back to bluebonnets.

Walking back from the bluebonnet field, my wife Elizabeth was at the helm of the camera. Dad and the little guy were walking ahead of us, and we were struck by the way dad was holding his son. He loved it! Elizabeth loved it too, and she snapped off a few shots of him.

So we were hired to shoot a baby in some bluebonnets. But being the opportunistic photographers we are, we captured much more than that. When we presented the photographs to the parents, they let us know which ones were their favorites. Not a single bluebonnet picture was on the list. But those candid shots were, the ones they didn’t even know we were taking.