Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/11/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Tom, That is a lovely family you have, and you have made better than the average family snaps to represent them. Steven looks a bit unsure of things, but shows character, and Claire and Margaret are both pictured very well. Margo has the soft eyes of a contentedly at home with the pack sort of beast. They are all comfortable before your lens rather than oppressed and intimidated. The tonal qualities of the shots are very good on my monitor. There's a great glow and sparkle to #2 in lighting that could as easily turned out harsh. 1 and 3 are not as distinguished in that regard, but the way you have dealt with the less interesting light is good anyway. What each of these shots lack is a degree of compositional refinement. I think you are a bit too close in #2 - Margaret's head is too centered, I want to see more of the paper or the maybe the way she places her feet or crosses her legs - and Steven's expression calls for a high POV, a looming above that would make that hint of fright more understandable, more dramatic. There are other solutions and other circumstances, but with more attention to formalities of composition (not formulas!), your shots would be very fine. You have the exposure technique down and certainly great subject matter. Someone, writing in defense of family photos, pointed out that many renown photographers used their families and friends for subjects. Provocatively, Steichen and Weston. Calahan's wife and baby appears in some of his seminal images. There's a lot to be learned in their work. Eggleston, that master of the off beat who I revere, when people are present, seems to have pictured mostly the people in his life, often in the most ordinary, prosaic ways, yet there is a magic. Pictures needn't be shocking or archly weird or contrived to justify family shots as artistic works. Capturing character and depth might come most naturally with one's closest companions. Why not? Anyway, I mean to say you can be on your way to making fine things. Carl - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html