A Day with Dad Lifestyle Photography Session at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields

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A Day with Dad at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields

It’s that time of year! America’s favorite pastime season has begun. I’m talking about…baseball! Jackie has had the idea of doing a baseball session for her son, Kellen, for awhile now. With it being his 10th birthday coming up, the family not having pictures for awhile and the love Kellen and his dad share for the game….it seemed like triple play.

Black and white picture of Boy in baseball uniform looking straight into the camera while holding his glove up to his face and standing against a chain length fence at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Boy standing on baseball and holding his bat at Channahon pony baseball fields in Channahon, IL

Boy turned opposite direction with cleat on top of ball and holding bat and turned over his shoulder looking at me while at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Timing

We decided to do our session early in the morning due to the field being wide open to the elements (including the sun). Sun in a family photographer’s world means weird shadows and squinty eyes, so I normally avoid middle of the day sun unless the area we are shooting is completely covered with shade (which the wide open field did not have). Even with morning sun, I still worry about the direction in which I will be shooting, etc so I normally scout out the location at the same time I will be shooting the week prior to our shoot. This also allows me to be sure there aren’t any surprises we were unaware of (i.e. construction of bridges we may want to utilize, flooding, out of order areas). Due to the session being planned so last minute, none of my systematic planning was able to take place. With it being so early in the morning on a weekday though, we shouldn’t have any challenges, right?!?

boy covering up one eye with baseball glove and the other seen thru a chain length fence at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Mom, dad and son having a good laugh in the dug out at Channahon Pony baseball fields in Channahon, IL

Boy in baseball uniform holding ball in his baseball glove at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

The Challenge

I woke up Friday morning thankful for the thick layer of clouds. Remember, I hadn’t had a chance to scope out the location before hand due to our session being planned last minute as well as the distance between my and Jackie’s house. I drove down to the Minooka/Joliet area and headed over to the field. To our surprise, there was a team having early morning practice…on a weekday! We continued on and saw that early morning team practices and wet fields seemed to be the theme of the day throughout the area. We finally settled on a field in Channahon at the Channahon Pony Baseball Fields. Ok…all set…right?

Dad and son sitting in brick dug out and smiling at camera at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Boy in baseball uniform pitching to his dad at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

batting practice at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

boy in baseball uniform hugging mom in dugout at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

The Sun!

That darn sun! It had been hiding for weeks. For WEEKS! And just as I was pulling my photo bag out of the car…I see it popping thru the clouds! By the time Kellen had his batting helmet on, the clouds had parted and we had full-on sun. And I realized as I set up that I would be shooting straight into it! How funny that, personally, I had wanted the sun so badly for so many days, and now I was shoeing it away! Be careful what you wish for, right?

Boy in baseball uniform sliding into home plate at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Boy in baseball uniform smiling after sliding into home plate at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Boy in baseball uniform playing catch with his dad at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

The Solution

In the end, we made it work. We made it ALL work. Dug outs were used for shade, and I shot at different angles to avoid the dreaded squinty eyes. We did a lot of action shots…which was super fun for me as I loved watching Kellen and his dad play. And I love that we were able to get a few full family shots as well…all while wearing Kellen’s baseball team gear and doing something that means so much to all three of them. Go Rhinos!

boy in baseball uniform smiling at the camera while holding his bat over his shoulders at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Boy in baseball uniform sitting at end of the bench out of focus while bat, ball and glove close to camera and in focus at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Boy in baseball uniform showing off his MVP badges while sitting in the dug out at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Boy in baseball uniform looking straight into the camera while holding his glove up to his face and standing against a chain length fence at Channahon Pony Baseball Fields in Channahon, IL

Black and white picture of boy running from 2nd base to third base at Channahon Pony Baseball Field in Channahon, IL

Kim Novella is a lifestyle family photographer based in the Western suburbs of Chicago. She services Naperville, Warrenville, Wheaton, Oakbrook, Lombard, Downers Grove and surrounding areas.

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