My friends all understand that I prefer to be on the working end of the camera over having it pointed at me. I guess I don't mind having my picture taken it is more about where they end up and who sees them.
When it comes to photography I guess I am kind of a specialist rather than a generalist. I take photos at conferences but I only publish about 5% of them. The reason is because most of them turn out pretty crappy. They are taken in poorly lit rooms with people in motion. I usually have to look up to take photos of faces and that is often the most unflattering angle. The photos are not flattering. Some of my lovely friends look frightening. I won't publish a bad or unflattering photo of someone. I have quite a collection of them. . . MUWAHHAHA
I recently read a post on one of my favorite blogs about how to shoot a conference. How to Photograph a Conference by the DPS blog. Professional photographers are told to do everything they can to make people look their best or they won't be asked back. Leaving me to conclude that most people like to see flattering pictures of themselves. Several of the few "people" photos I have published from conferences have become avatars and pictures used in on-line biography's. That is an honor. I take the photos out of respect for the wonderful people that I have had the privilege of pointing my camera at.
There are a couple of people in the re-net who have taken conference photos that I treasure. One of those people is Rudy. He publishes the nicest photographs of others and I am thrilled when I see myself in them. When I see them my respect for Rudy grows. Kristal Kraft has also taken some great shots, even the shots where she compares her subject to street people. Rich Jacobson does a good job and I hate to mention Jeff Turner because it will just go to his head, but he seems to actually look for ways to make people look their best. He has only gotten a good shot of me once but he has tried. He is a social kind of guy and isn't sure how to approach anti-social subjects.
This post is way too pro-social for the weenie and I promise I won't do it again.
I’m always learning something new from you. Thanks for sharing so much about how you think!
“I take photos at conferences but I only publish about 5% of them.”
Not only kind and considerate, but smart. “Good” photographers only show their best work.
Norm – that is true but when it comes to conference photos it isn’t about me it is about the person I am photographing.