Just by looking at these photos, it’s hard to tell who’s having more fun..the father or his three girls! About three years ago, John Wilhelm felt as though something was missing with his photography. Bored with just straight out of the camera shooting, he entered the world of digital manipulation. The rest, as they say, is history. “At that point I thought it would be impossible to reach a ‘pro-level; but I stuck to the idea and was able to progress pretty quickly,” he tells us. “Fortunately there are so many cool resources out there in the web to teach yourself.”
John had been surrounded with photography as a child, so it always played an important part in his life. His father was the founder of two photography clubs and John has many memories of playing in his darkroom with his sister, while his father was developing his shots.
John’s own magic happens in the attic. That’s where he constructs his fantastical scenes with his three daughters. Just how does he get them to cooperate? “To shoot kids is easy,” he says, “but if you need them in a certain pose it gets difficult. I usually try to inspire them by telling them an interesting story about an upcoming project. We simulate the studio situation without the camera. Once upstairs in my little attic/studio, there’s often not much more time than two to three minutes before they loose their attention and motivation. Sometimes sweets can help.”
John Wilhelm: