Kellie Overholt + The Story Behind
Welcome back! With school starting and the kids doing virtual learning, we had to take a little break from our weekly installment of The Story Behind. The importance of being inspiring in this passion of ours is super important so we are giddy to be back and share some of our favorite photos in our IG tag. Kellie is kicking (literally) this comeback off with her adorable little feet number. You’ve heard us preach time and time again that faces don’t have to be in photos to make something fantastic and Kellie again proves our point. We love the motion of the curled up toes and of course the beautiful light she captured along with the gorgeous colors she created. So without further ado, let’s welcome Kellie to the blog and keep reading to learn how her image came to be.
IG Handle:.
@kellieoverholt
When did you discover your passion as a photographer?
I first discovered my passion as a photographer when I took a film class in high school. From there, I dabbled in several different art mediums, but always returned back to my first love; photography. 10 years later, I started my business photographing families and have since created a family of my own to continuously be inspired by.
What inspires your art?
Aside from my own babies inspiring me, music and films really put me in that creative zone.
Where is your favorite place to create/photograph?
Anywhere I have really amazing light. I love movement in nature, so the combo of gorgeous light and flowing trees, tall grass or waves, just makes me so happy!
Tell us about your creative process.
I’m often inspired by natural settings in pretty light, so my vision for a shot is usually derived from a location that I find. From there, the entire mood of the scene + adding music, help me to pull that mood, and that’s what brings my vision to life. Once I’ve shot my images and get them pulled on to my computer, I typically let them sit untouched for about a week. I find that I’m much more critical of my work immediately after shooting, and I need that extra time to come back and look with fresh eyes. I’m almost always satisfied and happy with the results when I do this!
Where was this photo taken?
This photo was taken in the middle of a long cold winter, in my dining room (ie. where I’m mostly stuck indoors from December-March in Michigan). We have this big door-wall with another home next to it acting as a diffuser, and it usually gives me some really pretty light.
DSLR, iphone, instant or film?
DSLR | Canon Mark IV | Sigma 50mm lens.
What were your camera settings for this image?
1/3200, f1.8, and ISO 320
Can you tell us “The Story Behind” this shot?
I had given the kids popsicles and they were in their own world, chattering back and forth to each other. They pretty much forgot that I was there, so I took that time to really see everything that I loved about this moment so much.
What speaks to you about this image? What specifically made you press the shutter?
I really wanted to focus on storytelling with this crop, and I felt that their swinging feet showed that they’re still too little for their feet to touch the floor, but also that they were happy and content in this moment.
What was your composition technique with this shot?
This shot was a rule of thirds shot, with the focus on their feet being on the right line. I composed the shot this way because I liked the left-to-right flow of the image, and because their little feet told so many stories about the image, I liked having that being a point of focus for the viewer.
Did you have any lighting challenges/How did you light the image?
This image was lit from a big door that we have in our dark kitchen, and the sun was a little bit harsh. So exposing all of the image properly was a tad tricky, but I exposed for my daughter’s skin on her feet because that was the most important element to me.
Did you use any special techniques – freelensing, prism, etc?
Nope! Not for this one.
Was this photo happenstance or did you visualize it prior? If so, how did you envision the image and set up for it?
This was sort of happenstance. I knew I wanted to get some images of them sitting quietly eating their popsicles, but I didn’t visualize them swinging their feet like this prior to getting this shot. I didn’t even visualize this type of crop, and a lot of the other images in this set were of their hands and from the hips up.
Did you use a preset to edit this image, your own selective edits or a combination of both?
I used Tarah Sweeney Presets with this, and made my own adjustments!
Do you have any addition information you would like to share with our readers?
My dining area wall is a super dark paint, as you can see behind them; and the floors are a very golden, almost yellow wood. Nailing white balance in this area is tricky sometimes, so I had to make sure my image was well lit, and then used Kelvin WB to adjust for any weird color casts.
Continue to follow more of Kellie’s beautiful work at the links below:
SITE | FACEBOOK