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05-27-2008, 09:38 PM   #16
PDL
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Go here and buy/read this Joel Sartore Photography Check out the book on how to photograph your family.
Joel is a very good nature photographer where photography sort of distanced him from his family. There was a PBS special on him and his National Geographic work - during the shooting of the film (or just after its completion) his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. He came out with this book as he came to rediscover his family during her treatments. Good photographer, very good shots, great sentiments.

Yes, put your camera down and be part of the family. Just do not get to the point where whenever you pull out the camera the people run away. Make it just part of who you are - stop fussing so much.

The Elitist - formerly known as PDL


Last edited by PDL; 05-27-2008 at 09:44 PM.
05-28-2008, 12:50 AM   #17
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Don't forget that, when your family are posing for you, they are not really in the moment themselves. When they relax and act naturally they are in the moment and that's when you can create a memory.
05-28-2008, 04:23 AM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by sabarrett Quote
It came to me that to capture the moment, you can't be part of the moment. You have to focus on the camera, the poses, the technical aspects of the image capture, what you are focusing on, depth of field, shutter speed, lighting, shadows, and so on. You almost cannot take the time to enjoy what is happening. In a way, this is almost hurtful, as you have to experience what happened after the fact.

I attended a workshop where the instructor talked about this. The very act of placing a camera to your eye creates a physical buffer between you and the actual experience. His advice was to put the camera down or even leave it at home from time to time and just enjoy the moment. His feeling was that living the experiences made us more rounded people and that would enrich the rest of our photography.
05-28-2008, 07:27 PM   #19
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Wow

Man, I did not anticipate that this post would bring that many replies. Although I do appreciate all the viewpoints, I just want to say that I was not really complaining about my situation or had a problem with it. It was just a thought that I had and I guess it is obviously on others minds too.

05-28-2008, 09:34 PM   #20
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It takes quite a lot of work to become a natural at ease candid photographer. I remember looking at a web page talking about Paul McCartney's late wife who was a pro photographer before getting hitched to Sir Paul. In the short video he said that it was the closeness that she achieved with her subjects that allowed her to get those "moments" captured. She would just sit and talk, pick up her camera out of her lap and shot, put the camera down and continue with the conversation. It got to the point that the subjects would just accept that she was going to take unposed images and they would be very good.

Even with family that is a very hard thing to do. I have had it happen only two or three times (before I was using Pentax so I will not bore you with the images) and it just came down to the point where the subject just accepts that you take pictures. People who can do that are rare. So don't announce that you are taking pictures - ditch the flash (nothing destroys "the moment" like a blinding light) - just be known as the guy who takes selected images. No do overs, no big deal about equipment, keep the camera in your lap most of the time and learn to anticipate "the keeper". Hard work - but that one image is worth it, believe me.

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Last edited by PDL; 05-28-2008 at 09:42 PM.
05-28-2008, 11:12 PM   #21
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Street photography tends to be the opposite.
I also like to use a wide lens most of the time and be close to my subject.
I don't think there is any universal underlying principle or fact to this.
Personal preferences and horses for courses.
05-29-2008, 05:18 AM   #22
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QuoteOriginally posted by sabarrett Quote
to capture the moment, you can't be part of the moment
QuoteOriginally posted by sabarrett Quote
I was not really complaining about my situation
QuoteOriginally posted by bigben91682 Quote
Get a wide lens, turn on AF and go out and play, snapping all the while.
Well, I made the same observation some time ago and actually went thru two transitions.

First, I stopped taking photographs for the most part because I wanted to live, not observe how I live. And while, with a wide lens, you can physically be immersed, you still won't mentally. You just care about something else than the rest of the group.

Second, after some time, I changed again. I now consider taking photographs as a separate way of living. I do it consciously and I always take a decision: "Do I go to the place to do photography, or to do something else?" If not the first, I don't take the camera with me. If the first, I do things I not normally would do. This is an enrichment of my life in its own.

Photos for later memory (like kid shots) are a special case. I actually don't care anymore. If I would, I would carry a P&S and take careless/random photos. And for family events, there is always somebody else volunteering to take the photos

05-29-2008, 05:40 AM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by falconeye Quote
First, I stopped taking photographs for the most part because I wanted to live, not observe how I live. And while, with a wide lens, you can physically be immersed, you still won't mentally. You just care about something else than the rest of the group.
You're right. You can't do both effectively. It's like trying to talk on the phone while watching an intense movie. You either have to pay attention to the phone conversation or watch the movie. By dividing your time, you're not doing justice to either activity.

QuoteQuote:
Second, after some time, I changed again. I now consider taking photographs as a separate way of living. I do it consciously and I always take a decision: "Do I go to the place to do photography, or to do something else?" If not the first, I don't take the camera with me. If the first, I do things I not normally would do. This is an enrichment of my life in its own.
Like most things, I think the key is moderation. As you've pointed out, there's different stages of involvement and I think we ought to take advantage of all of them. The only time there's really a problem with any specific approach is when we take it to excess.
05-29-2008, 05:49 AM   #24
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It is something that you have to manage and work with and learn to say when. Like everything else, too much of a good thing... All things in moderation.... Just sometimes you have to put the camera down.
05-29-2008, 08:41 AM   #25
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Though I enjoy the sports photography I do, it is the family photography that will, in time, be the most important. Snapshots or not, it is these images that will form a legacy of sorts for my children so that when they're older, they'll be able to see who they *were*.

In the modern digital age, the family photographer is also - by extension - a family history major, a documentarian, a curator of change and development. It is for this reason that (practically) every where we go, I bring my Pentax and my glass. I shot the silly stuff, the candid stuff, and even some posed stuff. In essence, however, I am (I think) capturing time.

Beginning this year, I will create Apple family photo books - hardcover and bound - using the "best of" shots for the year. As my children grow, so too will their book collection.

Do I feel like I miss "the moment" a little bit with the viewfinder stuck to my right eye? Yeah, I guess I do. But it only takes a second to put the body back in the bag (image captured for posterity) and dive right in!

Great topic for discussion, thanks.

Rob
05-31-2008, 01:48 PM   #26
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To capture candids, I walk around with my camera deliberately not looking at my intended subjects. Then, when I feel the moment is right, I bring the camera to my eye as quickly as possible and shoot.

This usually works; if the people have been drinking, it's that much easier.

But to capture the real essence of an event, I would agree that you almost have to not be (split infinitive, sorry ) part of the event in order to get an accurate photo.

I took the photo below on Memorial Day at a backyard barbeque. I had already taken some posed and unposed shots, but none of them looked special or made you think of when they were taken. Then, while no one noticed, I walked back about 30 feet, set up my tripod, and made a few long exposures. To me, this is how I'll remember this barbeque:
Pentax 16-45 @ 18mm @ f5.6 @ 6 seconds. Taken about half an hour after sunset.


Mike
05-31-2008, 05:19 PM   #27
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I have been shooting family pictures for as long as I can remember really. When I was a kid, I liked taking pictures and always had my twin lens Kodak along. My grandfather gave it to me when I was around 8 or so. Every family event I usually took the pictures. When my kids came along it was kind of a natural thing to be there with the camera ready. If I felt I was missing something by taking pictures, I just put the camera down. I find sports the hard thing to shoot because you become involved with the game or race and sometimes by shooting pictures you kind of miss it. Trying to shoot pictures of my daughters crew races with a long lens while cheering them on can be almost impossible. My second daughter competes on the freeskiing circuit. When she does superpipe I can either watch her run or try to get a picture. One thing I have noticed through the years is the first thing the kids say after a race is "Hey Dad, did you get some pictures?" Its important to them.
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