Best Shot Tuesday… the truth behind the photos

I had an interesting photography conversation with a lady at the park one day last week. She had been standing there watching me clicking like mad, not even stopping to see what I’d captured, and I guess she thought I must know something about the big clunker piece of machinery around my neck because she decided to asked me for my best advice on photographing her children. Of course, I said the first thing that popped into my head which was “find someone else to do it.”

And I was only half kidding. Children between the ages of 10 months and 4 years are said to be the most difficult and frustrating for professional photographers to photograph. Now imagine that sort of frustration while photographing your own children.

The best advice I could give her was this: Click, Trash, Edit. That is, Click like there’s no tomorrow. Trash anything that doesn’t grab your attention the first time you see it. Edit everything.

Incidentally, I take an average of 900 pictures a week. 750 of those get trashed right off the card. 40 get edited that week (and the others are saved for whenever I have a free moment. yeah, right.) Only 20-25 end up on the blog or sent off for printing.

Most of the pictures I post on the blog are nice. Some of them are good. Only a couple are great. A great picture tells a story. It captures your attention. It commands you to afford it more than just a passing glance.

Ansel Adams, a master photographer, once said “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.” With that in mind, I have to tell you that “Best Shot Tuesday” is not about great pictures. Mostly it is about the picture I like the most, the “best shot” from the week before. Sometimes there is an obvious favorite. Sometimes I play eeny, meeny, miny, moe. The truth is, there are usually a lot that I like, but none that I love.

So, here is the crop from last week, all taken while visiting my family in Birmingham. You choose.

Zeiger's pool Uncle Michael and Baby Jon

watching Jackson swim no water wings!

Granddaddy giving Jackson swimming instruction to jump or not to jump pool vacuum turned water fountain

tan Uncle Michael, pale baby Jon.. my favorite picture of the crop :)

happily sitting with Uncle Michael Aunt Peggy telling a funny story

***

Birmingham Zoo sad little butterfly

my favorite animal at the zoo

waterlily can you tell what this is? *hint* that's a headlight

Michael "red mac-all" (per Jackson) Jonathan

"Outbreak" monkey Meerkat Manor

Jonathan, excited about the monkeys

Uncle Jon pushing baby Jon house cat? NOT!

ringing the train bell

***

Baby Jon resting, (whitemask edit) Memaw and Baby Jon, (whitemask edit)

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.”   -Imogen Cunningham

Comments

jon said…
the ones with me are obviously the best..
Anonymous said…
I like this one with Jonathan sleeping on Jonathan's chest. They are all great and soo fun to see. thanks. 123
Jackie said…
yeah, and I've noticed you have a knack for dodging the lens.. so those were lucky shots too :P
Karolena said…
I like the one with Michael and (baby) Jonathan, where Michael isn't looking and Jonathan is. I like the reddish background and how all the colors look bold.
Anonymous said…
I really like the giraffe sitting down. Did you take that for me? YOu know I like giraffes. Makes me miss that large ceramic one that I made for your Daddy.123
Jackie said…
^^ Kara, you picked out my favorite too
Jackie said…
Yes, Mom, that giraffe looked very much like your ceramic one. Hands down the most fun animal to photograph too