What would Jesus do?

On the other end of the spectrum I gave my 7 yr old daughter a little Leica point-and-shoot camera to use while we toured El Galeon Andalucia at Sail Portsmouth 2015 yesterday and many of her pictures turned out surprisingly well subject- and composition-wise. Enough that I think it wasn't coincidence.

Is it a child's inherent ability to see things that adults cannot? Of course a child has no preconceived notions of the world or what a good photograph should be. They just turn their attention to whatever is interesting at the moment. For my daughter that seemed to work really well, and the camera took care of the technicals. Maybe she's a natural.

For me it was a reminder to every once in a while try and see the world with a child's wonder and curiosity when I'm out taking photographs. That I think helps when selecting a subject but in a sense also helps composition.

So an interesting photo shoot would be to ask yourself "What does a child see?"

hi blanksy

i know what you mean .. sometimes there are just little things
that can be done, that can improve a photograph and "elevate" it
beyond a snapshot. personally, if there had been a way to
turn on the vacuum cleaner and have the hose swing violently and
from side to side and flash + drag the shutter i think it would have been pretty fun. but as
a snappy, its OK too ... the booth and all the "stuff" that trap her there
is her environment, and while it might have been a great portrait to photograph
her from a different angle to obscure all that "stuff" and almost "studio-ize" her
it might change the context of the point of the photograph, a lady in a booth.

jnanian said:

hi blanksy

... the booth and all the "stuff" that trap her there
is her environment, and while it might have been a great portrait to photograph
her from a different angle to obscure all that "stuff" and almost "studio-ize" her
it might change the context of the point of the photograph, a lady in a booth.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I thought of that when I commented. And it's often a difficult exercise to ascertain in photographs is that discord planned or merely inattention to detail.

Sometimes "arty" celebrity or fashion photographers will photograph subjects with a canvas background, then show the background stands and "environment" where the thing was set up. Of course people would look at it and say, why didn't they crop out the stands and extraneous stuff. "Well duh dude, because it's arty".

The same goes for wabi-sabi, an attempt to add an element of imperfection, where someone would look and say, why didn't they fix that.

But in the picture in question, my feeling on it is, it was a slightly nervous grab shot, and by merely bending his knees, (eliminating the ground) or moving his body slightly one way ( to block out the sign) or the other to show more of it giving more context, the picture would improve either way.

But you're right, it's difficult to know sometimes whether obvious imperfections are planned or due to inattention.

But I think there are tells. Body of work is one. And just the feeling we get that signals, this picture was full of choices, and the author made them all.

Nodda Duma said:

On the other end of the spectrum I gave my 7 yr old daughter a little Leica point-and-shoot camera to use while we toured El Galeon Andalucia at Sail Portsmouth 2015 yesterday and many of her pictures turned out surprisingly well subject- and composition-wise. Enough that I think it wasn't coincidence.

Is it a child's inherent ability to see things that adults cannot? Of course a child has no preconceived notions of the world or what a good photograph should be. They just turn their attention to whatever is interesting at the moment. For my daughter that seemed to work really well, and the camera took care of the technicals. Maybe she's a natural.

For me it was a reminder to every once in a while try and see the world with a child's wonder and curiosity when I'm out taking photographs. That I think helps when selecting a subject but in a sense also helps composition.

So an interesting photo shoot would be to ask yourself "What does a child see?"

Click to expand...

If you learn a 2nd language while you are an ankle biter it is a first language.

Nodda Duma said:

On the other end of the spectrum I gave my 7 yr old daughter a little Leica point-and-shoot camera to use while we toured El Galeon Andalucia at Sail Portsmouth 2015 yesterday and many of her pictures turned out surprisingly well subject- and composition-wise. Enough that I think it wasn't coincidence.

Is it a child's inherent ability to see things that adults cannot? Of course a child has no preconceived notions of the world or what a good photograph should be. They just turn their attention to whatever is interesting at the moment. For my daughter that seemed to work really well, and the camera took care of the technicals. Maybe she's a natural.

For me it was a reminder to every once in a while try and see the world with a child's wonder and curiosity when I'm out taking photographs. That I think helps when selecting a subject but in a sense also helps composition.

So an interesting photo shoot would be to ask yourself "What does a child see?"

Click to expand...

Children have ways of seeing things that adults never see. Enjoy your children.

blansky said:

But in the picture in question, my feeling on it is, it was a slightly nervous grab shot

Click to expand...

If I wasn't a Southpark fan I wouldn't have noticed this post. Their twist.. "What would Brian Boitano do?" Blansky is correct, it was a slightly nervous shot. Slightly. I saw it, walked up and asked her for the picture. I didn't want to take up to much of her time, which was the nervous part. She then had me come around and she took a picture of me for the stations facebook page and showed it to me. That all took time, so my initial fear was unfounded.

I have "good days" and bad days when out taking these portraits. In my gallery there is a well dressed black gentleman who was rather stern looking and seemingly unapproachable. I walked up, asked if I could take his picture and maneuvered him and myself to get the best shot I could. I have many images taken this way. But there are also images like the image in question where I just snap it.

Am I giving myself a way out by thinking that I don't want to take the fun out of it my trying to make a great shot? Is it putting to much pressure on myself? I think there is some truth to both of these statements. I will continue to grow by listening to the good people of this forum. I will continue to make snapshots. I hope to continue to make images that invoke a feeling good, bad or indifferent. When nobody pays attention, then I know it didn't work.