Photographer waits for the right moment

By DOUG OLESON - doleson@shawsuburban.com

SANDWICH â€" Gwen Allen will never tell a child to smile â€" at least while she’s taking their picture.

“I’m not a big fan of telling a kid to smile at me,” the Sandwich photographer said, noting that is something most mothers will invariably tell their children to do when posing for a picture. “if you force a 2- or 3-year-old to smile, it’ll be forced and it won’t be a natural photo. A parent always knows if it’s a forced smile.”

What Allen prefers to do, instead, is wait for the right moment.

“Kids naturally do great things for pictures,” she said. “it’s all about sitting back and waiting for the shot to come to you.”

The most beautiful pictures of children, she said, are when they are “totally lost in their own space.”

Allen has been applying that philosophy ever since opening her own photography studio, Living Art Photographer, in Sandwich last October.

Growing up in Bloomington/Normal, Allen has lived in Sandwich the past six years. Besides photography, which she said she’s “played with her whole life,” she’s also a journalist and has written stories for the Valley Free Press.

“As a writer and a photographer, I love to tell stories, not only in my writing, but through my photography, too,” she writes on her website, www.livingartphotographer.com. “With each image, I try to capture what is cherished most in a person â€" their character. It is my goal to capture the art of everyday living in a one of a kind, timeless portrait.”

One of the ways she does that is by taking pictures in natural lighting, if at all possible, either indoors or out. Although she specializes in taking pictures of children, she also shoots entire families, high school senior portraits, engagements and has just started to do weddings, which she calls “a huge, awesome responsibility.”

“This is something they’re going to treasure a long time,” she said.

Whatever the client wants

Once a client contacts her, which they can do by calling 630-364-0141, Allen will discuss a number of things, such as who they want in the picture and what type of setting they want. Some want an urban setting while others prefer something more rural. Although she has a portable studio, most choose to be shot outdoors.

“People are getting away from studios like J.C. Penney’s,” she said, adding that people are less stressed outside when it’s just them and they don’t have to worry about someone standing in line behind them tapping their feet, waiting their turn.

It is a situation she fully understands. As a mother of three, which was the inspiration for her business, she would get stressed herself when taking them for a studio picture. Trying to get her own kids to smile and avoid a meltdown, she said she was aware of those waiting impatiently behind her.

“So you could say my own experience gave me an opportunity to see the value in what I currently do,” she said.

Allen said she’ll venture all the way from Bloomington to Schuamburg for an outdoor shoot. She has even gone to Lincoln Park in Chicago to capture the skyline of the Windy City.

“It’s all what they want,” she said.

One time, Allen got a picture of a little boy as she chased after him through a field of dandelions.

Once she meets with someone, Allen likes to hang out with them a little, getting to know her clients as well as giving them a chance to relax. It’s also a way to get a feel for what captures them best on film.

Ironically, if it’s a family picture, Allen said it’s usually best to let the youngest member run the shoot.

In an average shoot, which normally lasts about two hours, Allen said she’ll take about 200 pictures, including multiple poses and changes of clothing. Back in the studio, she’ll edit the photos down to the best ones and burn them onto a CD

Good sign

How has her business gone so far? Saying she hasn’t had a bad experience yet, Allen said she has become friends with 95 percent of her clients.

Which should be a good sign for any business.

Besides her website, Allen’s work can be seen on her Facebook, www.facebook.com/livingartphotographer, which also offers coupons and discounts.
Allen does have a special event coming up, Portraits in the Park, at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, June 19, in Sandwich. The cost is $10 per child. Since space is limited, those who are interested should call her at 630-364-0141 as soon as possible to register.

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