photographing children

Last weekend, I attended the first birthday party of Gracie, the little girl I babysit. I think I must have been the only person there who wasn't married! And one of the only ones who didn't have children. But I find that my camera is fine company in these situations. It's like when I was in middle school and never felt like I fit in. I was so painfully shy, I would read books through lunch so I wouldn't have to talk to people. I loved my books. But in those situations, I was using them as a prop. They gave me a good excuse not to be social in situations where I was not comfortable doing so.

Anyhow, this party turned into a child photography session for me. I got a number of shots I was quite proud of. But I noticed that these shots have been virtually ignored on my flickr page. The experience taught me that child photography is tricky. People love pictures of the children in their own family but when the subject is NOT family, the appeal is not as strong. Pictures of babies are just pictures of babies. Unless the shot is something unusual and extraordinary.

I guess these shots are not as extraordinary as they seemed to me. But I'm posting them here anyway. Just because I like them.

learning

Apparently, I have been holding my new SLR just like a person who started on point & shoot! Here I am, holding it the right way for (probably) the very first time.


Photo by Thinh, who schooled me on proper handling.

Incidentally, I find that learning from others is just as important as going out and shooting on my own. I am already a hodge podge of things I've picked up from this or that photographer. Which is really the beauty of evolution, right? Combining old elements in order to come up with something new and fresh? I love how we can all do that for each other. Everyone has something different to offer, and probably something different to offer at different times of day, too.

left eye

I'm right handed, so just assumed that I would be right-eyed too. I was wrong about that. Tonight, I learned that I shoot better with my left eye.

It makes perfect sense, really. I was just at the eye doctor last week and it was pretty obvious that my left eye is stronger. He always struggles to get me seeing as clearly with the other. And that one seems to change more often, too. It's less stable. Less able to give consistent, sharp focus.

new purpose

I can hardly believe it's been so many months already since the first inkling of an idea struck me to start using this blog again, in a different format. I want to try it out as a photography blog. A sort of journaling of my progress in this new world of SLR.

Here, first, is the very first photo I took with my Canon Digital Rebel XT.



Not the most exciting shot, obviously. But I am posting it here for documentary purposes.

Also during this, my very first test run with the camera, I achieved the following:



By far my favorite shot of young Chloe so far, and a very popular one on myspace.

I just love the detail this camera is able to achieve. All I knew before was my point & shoot, a Nikon Coolpix 4300. I really loved that camera, but now the new Canon is spoiling me for it. The only area in which the old still trumps the new is in portability. Though I am gradually beginning to care less about that. Sure, it'd be nice to fit my camera in even the daintiest of evening bags, but no one really seems to mind a good camera being carried around in full sight. It's really just a matter of me getting more secure as a photographer.