August 31, 2007
Photographing Children
“Working with babies, small children and teenagers can be a frustrating experience for any professional photographer. Kids of all ages are unpredictable. Things can be going along well during a session when, for no apparent reason, the mood changes and you are suddenly dealing with an uncooperative subject or, in the worst case scenario, a screaming out-of-control subject. . .
Kids, especially little ones, are easily frightened. Therefore, extra care must be taken to provide a safe, fun, working environment. The photographic experience must, in and of itself, be enjoyable for the child. One key is understanding that while adults can control their environment, children cannot. . .
George Eastman, the great grandfather of the Eastman Kodak Company, once said that there are about 160 things that can go wrong in the taking of a picture. Clearly, he wasn’t talking about child’s portraiture – because there are easily double that number of things that can go wrong in the typical child’s sitting. But if children’s portraiture were that impossible, then there wouldn’t be so many children’s photographers in the world.
There are many rewards at excelling at this special skill. . .Australian photographer Suzette Nesire, who is extremely well regarded at home and now abroad, says. . .’I remember years ago Mum saying you don’t own your children, they’re only on loan. As a photographer I feel there is nothing more important than capturing your little ones and their early years --- their faces, their expressions, their little hands and their habits that constantly change. A portrait of your young child is a priceless reminder of a time that once passed and will never return again. Choose to make an investment in a portrait of your child, as pictures convey so much more than words can ever express.’”
(Source: Bill Hurter. Children’s Portrait Photography Handbook. Amherst Media: 2007. pages 7-9.)
J. C. Penney versus Yuen Lui
At 10:00 AM today, Lydia made her third individual visit to Yuen Lui for its “Back to School” promotion, the company’s least expensive portrait package at $ 20 that includes the sitting fee, one 8 inch x 10 inch photo, and eight or nine wallet sized photos. Two hours later, we kept our appointment at J. C. Penney for a family photo, and we placed an order for about $ 70 that consisted of one 10 x 13, two 8 x 10, six 5 x 7, four 3 x 5, and eight wallets (at Yuen Lui, this package would cost $ 260 when the Children’s Portrait Sale is occurring). (Before Lydia came into our lives, we never had pictures done at Yuen Lui, a regional chain of portrait studios, and except for last year, we had photos of us as a couple done at J. C. Penney, which operates a chain of studios nationwide, annually.)
The familiar phrase “You get what you pay for” accurately applies to most products and services. Though much costlier, the images made at Yuen Lui are far superior to those done at J. C. Penney because of the advanced education and skill of the photographers, the use of a tripod, the much less hurried nature of the sitting, the use of sophisticated lighting techniques, the larger size of the rooms, the variety of props, the diversity of backgrounds, and the ability to do post-processing (e.g. crop, retouch, etc.).
Note that sophistication of camera and lens equipment was not one of the criteria that distinguished the workmanship of the two studios. Beryl, our photographer at Yuen Lui who has been working there for over ten years, used an older Canon 10D digital SLR camera (6 megapixel) that has been discontinued for a few years with a Canon 24-85 mm lens. The cost of the camera is around $ 500, and the price of the Canon lens is around $ 300. The young lady photographer at J. C. Penney, whom SiowFong thought might be in her late teens or early twenties, utilized a Nikon D2x digital SLR camera (12 megapixel), which costs $ 4,400, with a Tamron 28-75 mm lens, which costs about $ 400. The moral of the story is simply this: the photographer matters much more than the camera and lens when it comes to making an exceptional photograph.
Our portrait club card with J. C. Penney expires February 2008, and we do not have any plans to renew it. We will continue to return to Yuen Lui, particularly for the semiannual Children’s Portrait Sale (January and February as well as June and July), for Lydia’s portraits.
DSC_0044
DSC_0047
DSC_0054b
DSC_0062
DSC_0079
