Nikon D4, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 8000, ƒ/4.5, 1/100

My wife and daughter planned a fabulous 16th birthday party. My daughter invited her group of friends. Unfortunately, some couldn’t make it, so capturing moments to feel like they were there was key.

I shared a gallery of images for her to share with her friends and her proud parents with our friends.

I chose to shoot as many of the images with my AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm ƒ/2.8 lens because to fill the frame; you must get close. I think this helps pull the audience into moments much more than a longer telephoto lens.

Occasionally I cranked the aperture up to ƒ/9 to be sure everyone was in focus. I wanted to be sure I captured my wife, Dorie, in this photo of my daughter Chelle on the telephone. Dorie had arranged for some of my daughter’s favorite bands to call and wish her happy birthday. So here is Farewell My Love calling Chelle.

I wanted to capture how much fun all of Chelle’s friends were having as well. It was fantastic that they were all in on the surprise phone calls. What I was enjoying as much as Chelle’s reaction was her friends being excited for Chelle.

Knowing my daughter is loved by more than her family and has great friends makes you proud.

Chelle also had a phone call from Late Nite Reading early in the evening. However, we had set it up in our living room on the computer with Skype. So Late Nite Reading Skyped in and played three songs for Chelle and her friends. What is astonishing is even the band was excited for Chelle.

Here you can see everyone in the living room watching Late Nite Reading. In the years to come, we will cherish the memories through the photographs.

I put a lamp just behind the computer to be sure there was enough light on Chelle so that Late Nite Reading could see her and her friends. The lamp is just a tip if you decide to do this yourself.

I encourage anyone who wants to do storytelling to learn how to capture your family events and capture them so that those who were not there will know the story and capture the event’s emotions.

We also set up a video camera to capture the Skype call. The video camera was for her friends, who couldn’t be there but wanted to know what had happened. So here is that video in case you want to hear my daughter scream and the excitement of everyone.