Capturing the chaos at Target

You may be asking yourself "Why would I take my camera to Target?" Well, let's face it, Target is like a vortex of time and money. You go in looking for one thing and come out with a cart full, and you may have forgotten to pick up that one thing you went in for. We have all been there! Since you are spending so much time and money at Target, it is an integral part of your life right now, so why not include a trip or two into your family photo album for this year? Will you get a few strange looks from fellow customers? Maybe. But you are capturing honest moments of your life so there is no need to care. Plus, you may inspire others to do the same thing!

All images were taken with a Nikon D5500, Nikor 35mm 1.8 prime lens, and in aperture priority mode. I kept the aperture at 2.8 because I wanted to have the blurred background and foreground.  

Romping around the Rock Hill Target

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This is an aisle I hope we will not be visiting again soon. My baby is 3 years old now (even though he is the size of a 5 year old) and we are in the midst of the dreaded potty training. He is a strong-willed child, so it has been proven to be a bit difficult. My home is strewn about right now with Paw Patrol underwear, potty chairs, reward charts, and stickers galore! I know this image above is not perfect as the focal point is slightly behind them, but when you get a silly face like that on an image you need to share it. Notice I did not have him strapped in at this point. You will see in my progression through Target that he is strapped in by the last picture! Those of you with 3 year old boys understand why.

How did I create this image?
ISO: 1600 (higher ISO because it was not great lighting and I needed a higher shutter speed to capture movement)
Aperture: f/2.8
​Shutter speed: 1/250 
​I set up the cart half way down the aisle and moved myself back far enough to where I could get the shelves to create lines that bring your eyes to the subjects (my kiddos). If I had more time and my son wasn't running toward me I would have moved the cart towards the middle of the aisle more to create a better mirrored image of the shelving on both sides and not cutting off the kids feet. But, every time I capture an image I think about how I can improve upon it next time. This will be a nice picture for the family album!  

Squishy Face

How did I create this image?
ISO: 1600 (higher ISO because it was not great lighting and I needed a higher shutter speed to capture movement)
Aperture: f/2.8
​Shutter speed: 1/160
I was lucky with this picture! Since I had my 35mm prime lens on my camera I could not zoom in or out, so I improvised. I took my camera over my head with my "go go gadget" arms and just started snapping, hoping I would get the right focal point and I was happy with the results of this one. L was giving T a squishy face and thankfully he thought it was funny rather than crying. Success! 

Toy time

How did I create this image?
ISO: 1600 (higher ISO because it was not great lighting and I needed a higher shutter speed to capture movement)
Aperture: f/2.8
​Shutter speed: 1/200
These two kiddos had been good while I shopped for the boring stuff I needed, so I promised a trip to "just look" in the toy aisle. I had taken several pictures at this point, but I liked this one the best because of the angle and how they are set up. I try my hardest not to purposely pose my kids because then they will hate it every time I take out the camera. I allow them to naturally move about and then I move around them. I bent down below their level and close to the shelving, which were the leading lines toward the subjects. I also liked how I can see both of their faces and that their arms are moving in the same direction. 

Straps necessary

How did I create this image?
ISO: 1600 (higher ISO because it was not great lighting and I needed a higher shutter speed to capture movement)
Aperture: f/2.8
​Shutter speed: 1/125
As you can see T had be strapped in because he had decided to run away from me in the toy aisle and not follow directions. It was getting close to nap time and mommy was ready! Luckily T wasn't too upset about getting strapped in because he knew he wasn't listening. But it is hard to say no to this face! The aperture being at 2.8 gives some good bokeh (blurriness) to the foreground and background while his face is in focus. 

That was just one of our little trips to Target. An ordinary moment that becomes extraordinary years from now when looking back at these images. I know these pictures will transport me back to this time when both kids were still able to fit in the cart, T was full of energy and making the transition out of diapers, and L was such a good listener. My camera helps me to take a step back and observe life at this moment in time. It makes me slow down and recognize that all these moments pass way too fast. I hope that photography does the same for you!  Please feel free to like my Facebook page (click here) to keep up on other posts that include photography tips and my parenting worldly nonsense.


​Note: Images were taken in RAW and edited in Lightroom.