Reply To: Shots from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

[EyeDocPhotog]

My niche is I only shoot children. AND only candids at that – no posing, studio lighting checks, “hold it right there” or “a little more head tilt to the right, and chin up a tad.” My models are ALWAYS running, jumping, wrestling with siblings, splashing each other, laughing while rolling down a grassy hill, giving me funny looks – anything a kid would normally do. I have to contend with changing light, focus & composition within SECONDS or I miss the shot.

This is why I tell the families who hire me (albeit not too often as I already have a day job) that a yield of 3-4 out of every 10 shots I take is a good day.

All this being said, I can say I fully understand the challenges that Andy had while taking these shots AND why he did a fabulous job.He was shooting a SHOW – no one was posing for him and he had to THINK FAST with each shot (lighting, composition, DOF). I don’t want to sound as though he and I are BETTER than anyone else who does not shoot ‘transient scenes,’ but there are different skills involved.

To those who might say his lighting could have been better or a shallower / deeper DOF would’ve worked, I reply: try to get these shots FIRST. Without the benefit of a speedlite, backdrop, or brighter / dimmer ambient lighting. Your statements will change, to be sure.