A Father Who Creatively Captures his Kids

Think Outside The Frame

by: Alice Yoo

If there was a prize that could be given out to the most creative father, I'd hope that it was awarded to Jason Lee. A wedding photographer by trade, he's used to capturing some of the most important moments in a couples' lives. As a longtime fan of Jason's photos on Flickr however, I think the real magic happens when he turns the camera onto his daughters.



Sure, his children are adorably cute in their own right, but that's not what makes his photos so interesting. It's when he puts his own spin on their everyday moments that we not only get to experience our own childhood again, we're able to see a father's pride shine through.



I was able to get in touch with Jason to ask him a few questions.

Read that short interview on the next pages, and at the same time take a peek at some of his wonderfully creative photos.

Go to the next page for more amazing photos from Jason...

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Q: How did you get into photography?

A: I picked up my first digital camera a year before my first daughter was born, which was about 8 years ago. I really enjoyed taking photos and getting the immediate feedback from digital and it just grew from there.
 

Go to the next page for more amazing photos from Jason...

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Q: How do you come up with such creative photos of your daughters? What's your creative process like?

A: Most of the ideas come from the girls, from observing them play, or hearing the funny and outrageous things they say. Their day to day life also plays a big role for my inspiration. Creative process, hmm, thats a tough one. After coming up with an idea, I then 'set up' the scene, and often use artificial lighting to enhance the images. It helps to plan out the shoot before hand, so at most, I only have them in the shoot for a minute or two.

 

Go to the next page for more amazing photos from Jason...

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Q: How has being on Flickr helped you with your business?

A: I generally use Flickr to share photos of the kids, but I have had several inquiries for wedding work after people have seeing my child photography.

 

Go to the next page for more amazing photos from Jason...

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Q: Any inspirational stories you'd like to share?

A: Well, not sure if this is inspirational or not, but I'd like to share a little bit about why and how this project came about. In 2006, my mother was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma. The girls were constantly sick, with colds and coughs so I couldn't always bring them to visit her. I started a blog http://kristinandkayla.com as a way to keep my mom up to date with things that were going on in their lives, and hoping to cheer her up with pictures. I still try and keep it updated with photos, but it's at a far less frequency than when I first started.

 

Go to the next page for more amazing photos from Jason...

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Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring photographers?

A: Don't be afraid to experiment. Take notes. When you have an idea, jot it down somewhere for later. Practice, practice, practice. Start a 365 project, or at least try to shoot something on a consistent basis.

 

Go to the next page for more amazing photos from Jason...

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Q: Any quotes you live by?

A: Like in Finding Nemo, Dori advises "just keep swimming, just keep swimming." Replace swimming with taking pictures and I think you have a winning formula : )

 

Alice Yoo is a UCLA alum who worked in advertising for MTV. She's always been into spotting trends and seeing them take off. She is also an aspiring photographer and graphic designer.

Alice is a huge fan of art, design and photography. She thinks creativity exists in every one of us and loves showing that to the world. Though Alice is particularly fond of street art and pop surrealism, she loves anything that pushes boundaries or breaks new ground. She also loves putting together photo compilations. More than that, Alice has a strong desire to uncover the stories behind them.

Read Alice's blog on theMET.