Capturing the Secret

No, not Victoria's secret. Secrets that are shown in a photograph. When it comes to capturing people, the most important thing is to is capture their true emotion, not the emotion that they create. Martina Holmberg captures a "secret" that is shown in a picture of children. "Good portraits are often characterized by the photographer's ability to capture beautiful light, an interesting expression, or a captivating gaze." (113) Using this tip and following her example I was able to capture pictures of little cousins and nieces that showed a "secret".

The key to these types of pictures is to not have the subject looking at the camera, having them look in another direction or away from the camera makes the person looking at the picture wonder 'why are they looking that way?' or 'what are they looking at?". The thing about these photos is that their emotion is pure and not fake, they aren't posing for the camera, they don't really realize that a picture is being taken of them. "Even thought the level of masters might seem out of reach, it's fun to practice and learn at your own level" (Holmberg 113). Martina states that your photos don't need to be at a professional level, and that experimenting is important to learning.  

Capturing photos of people or in this case, kids, is difficult if you have a big camera, like a nikon or canon. An advantage to using your phone as a camera is that it's smaller and not as likely to be noticed quickly. Using these tips can create a great portrait photo, just remember that the most important thing is to capture light, expression, and gaze. 

Q: Do you think that this style of photography can only work with kids? Do you think that you would ever try to create these types of photos? 

Citation: Holmberg, Martina. Sixty Tips for Creative iPhone Photography. Santa Barbara, CA: Rocky Nook Inc. 2012