In a deviation from my usual subject matter and stylings, here’s something that’s neither landscape, nor color.
I’ve been asked recently if I do portraits of kids. I said, have you seen my website and the type of pictures I usually make? Yes, he responded, I have. But, he continued, I mentioned that you’re a photographer to some friends of mine, and they wanted to know if you take kids portraits.
You see, my website is full of landscapes. Trees. And if I have people, the shots are more akin to street photography than portraiture. I was really puzzled.
But, his question does make sense. Of all the pictures taken in the world, I wonder how many of them are of kids. You know, the pictures taken to share with friends and family. It’s got to be a large percentage. Fifty percent? More? What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “photographer”? Is it weddings and kids?
I wonder if this is similar to the reaction I get when I mention to people that I worked in the software business. It wouldn’t take long for them to ask if I’d help them fix their computer.
So, I’ve been contemplating, perhaps just a little, what goes into a portrait. Well, for my child, at least.
April 29th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I don’t know if you remember the B/W pics of our boys when they were 3 or 4. we have several of the shots on our walls. We took them to a professional photographer who spent several hours capturing very candid and sometimes pre-dispositioned shots (eg. hear no evil/see no evil/speak no evil shot). anyway, they are priceless now and probably the major cornerstone of our family memories. Your daughter’s shots are great. It should be a fun summer.