Nicole Hansen
Nicole Hansen Photography
Madison, WI
The first thing I had to think about was the set up. I knew we needed a Tee Pee, arrow heads, and a dream catcher. Being an avid DIYer I immediately looked up dream catcher tutorials. Here is the one I found and loved: http://lunevintage.blogspot.com/2011/04/lunes-dream-catcher-how-to.html Instead of your typical strung dream catcher it uses a crochet doily. I didn’t have time to search all the thrift shops for a doily so I crocheted one myself. I love how it turned out! After the dream catcher was made I started on the Tee Pee. Luckily just days prior there was a big storm and a ton of branched fell of the trees. I drove around my neighborhood collecting sticks all about equal lengths. When I arrived home I drilled holes in each one and strung some jute twine through them, allowing the tee pee to open like an umbrella. Then using scrap fabric, I sewed together the cover.
I knew my grandma had some arrow heads that were found on our family farm by my great-grandpa. I gave her a call and sure enough she still had them, along with a vintage lantern. Score! This was coming together easier than I had anticipated. Next, I envisioned deer antlers hanging from trees near our set up. Since we are in Wisconsin, those too weren’t difficult to locate. A day later and a trip to Hobby Lobby, we were all set and ready for our shoot.
I love backlit photos and that is what I was trying to go for in most of these photos. Our session took place at an abandoned field just blocks away from my house. We had to be very careful of ticks and move quickly as we had only an hour to shoot before the sun was gone. Overall, I think our boys did a great job. I really just let them lead and interact with the props.
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Tabitha Parker - These are so adorable!
Kim Carpenter - Got Grins? :D Photography - Love it!!! Great concept!
Kelsey {Las Vegas Photographer} - Loved this Nicole!! So happy to see you featured!! xoxo
Amy - What an amazing session! Just gorgeous! Imagine how fun it will be for these little boys (who I’m sure enjoyed the shoot too) to see these once they’ve grown. I’m inspired!
Connie - well executed. So may times I see interesting staging/props with images looking stiff. These have beautiful composition and really tell something about the subject.
Michelle L Morris - great pics… love the long hair on the boys – beautiful processing!
Melissa Jacks - Love them all!!!
Anna - Beautiful, love the whole setup! Perfect for boys!
Nicole Hansen - Thank you everyone for all your kind comments. And thank you Lexi for the feature.
My ultimate goal for this session was to have it featured and I am so happy to accomplish that.
Our boys had a ton of fun doing this. And I had a great time making all the props, shooting (although sort of stressful) and edited. I am hoping to make a coffee table book out of all the images!