Spontaneity

For me, spontaneity is the key to a good portrait. I've never been particularly good at posing people. And even when I try, they're uncomfortable and too conscious of the camera to allow their true selves to emerge.

Here's a prime example. Last Saturday I crammed my grandson's new bike, his birthday present, into my back seat of my Honda Insight where it barely fit. Then, I proceeded to his party held around the block at our village park. I had hoped that he would be playing in the field or otherwise occupied when I arrived so he wouldn't see the handle bar jutting out of the window.

However, they pulled up right beside my car when we arrived at the same time. He jumped out and peered through the window. Luckily, my camera was resting on the passenger seat and I had the presence of mind to pick it up.
For a more poetic rendition, visit Recovery Thru My Lens!

Constant Motion

It's about that time again, time for me to post yet another image of my grandson, my most challenging yet irresistible subject. As I've said before, photographing children under the age of five is one of the most difficult assignments, especially little boys who are in constant motion. Trying to pose children---or people of any age---is usually an exercise in frustration and often results in forced images revealing little about the subject's personality.

For me, spontaneity is the way to go. I always try to remember to bring my camera on outings with him, especially when there's an activity or something there that I think will engage him.

So on a recent autumn afternoon when we went to the Riverhead Street Fair, I made sure to pack my camera. While there was junk food and carnival rides galore, it was a collection of vintage tractors that captivated him most. Once he jumped onto this 1949 John Deere, it took just a few frames to really capture him.