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Sep, 2015Views
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claudiamariegiuffre
September 08, 2015
This was a young boy I photographed in Harbour Island Bahamas, he wasn't being watched and almost wandered into the road, so I found his mom asked if I could photograph him and hang out with him while he played in the water.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on Harbour Island in the Bahamas during my time working as a photography teacher for the wonderful non-profit organization Space To Create. A comprehensive youth development program, where through the process of working together on artistic, academic and community projects, children and youth learn about life and about themselves.Time
Halfway through the program I took my class of children on a field trip to photograph locals of their community and I had my camera with me but I was mostly teaching them about leading lines and rule of thirds and giving them photo challenges to do. When I saw this little boy playing, unsupervised, by the road. I found his parents and asked if I could photograph him, when really I just wanted to make sure someone was watching him and he was ok. Sure enough the little guy looked up and I got this shot of just pure innocence and it was my best most meaningful photo from my entire time there. It was taken in August of 2015 in the afternoon.Lighting
Being around the ocean, I always had to consider how light would be reflected because if too much bounced off the water I would not have been able to see the face of my subject. So I tilted my camera downward in order to show less water and reduce the light and keep the focus where it should be, on the subject.Equipment
This was shot using a Nikon D5000 handheld.Inspiration
I was inspired to take this photo out of my protectiveness for children, my main purpose for going to the Bahamas was to give kids a fun photography experience and give them something to do and learn during their summer. This did not only apply to the kids in my class but also when I saw kids playing around town or by the beach they would be so friendly and know your name, and this little guy was too young to speak but you could tell just walking past he would be better off if someone was caring for him and paying more attention to him. Plus, once I took this photo of him four of his sisters ran from down the beach and wanted all their pictures taken too and then they started playing with their youngest brother and looking out for him. It is amazing the sense of community that photography can create.Editing
This photo needed some lightening on the subject, so I work in photoshop and I used a levels adjustment layer in order to brighten the subject and darken the background. Then I also sharpened the picture which led to the little pieces of sand on his face to stand out more.In my camera bag
My camera bag always has my tripod strapped to the outside. A safe compartment for my camera and then one to two lenses will be in the bottom of my bag but I rarely change lenses while shooting. The most important things I carry are an extra battery pack and multiple SD cards, so space is never the reason I stop shooting. I also just put my charger in there two, I have never had two battery packs run out on me during a shoot but just in case I need to I can charge on the go and it does not add a lot of weight to the bag.Feedback
The best thing to do first is find the adult a child is with and ask if its ok to photograph their children, most people are very excited and flattered that you want to photograph them. I think the next important thing is speed, kids move so quickly, there are numerous shots of my nephews I wish I had but missed because they never stop moving, so do automatic focus, there is usually not enough time to do manual focus without missing the shot. Safe all the time you can and even if you think you got the shot take a few more just in case. Multiple photos give you options with framing, cropping, lighting, etc.
