As a father of two lovely daughters, I am often surrounded by nieces and playdates with equally wonderful little people of all shapes and sizes. What I find intriguing about photographing these little wonders-of-nature is their immediate and direct reaction to you as a photographer. If they trust you, they’ll pour their souls out onto the canvas for you to behold. If you catch them a little off-guard, they can make the shot immensely dense and tense.
As a personal preference in photography, I am not keen on direct eye contact. I much rather be the observer capturing the subject behold and sense something elsewhere situated than behind my lens. However with children I feel a bit different, in parts explained by the beforehand stated immediate and direct nature of children.
Below is a series of my very favourite black and white shots involving only childish eye contact.
All shots was made using the X-Pro1 w/XF 35mm R f1.4. The Fujifilm is a monochrome beast! Shoot in black and white simulation and it will reward you with .jpg outputs that will blow your mind. Only very minor adjustments in brightness and contrast is needed. What I like is having the skin somewhat High-key and the eyes be the darker part of the image. That is what I usually go for in regards to positioning myself so the available light fall just right.
These photos are so absolutely beautiful! I especially adore the first one… Such cuteness and honesty oozing out of it!
Thank you very much Eleanor. Glad you like it 🙂
Lovely. These capture that mystical intelligence that children possess — a kind of intelligence that is often obscured in adulthood.
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