I started doing this project back in 2008 where high school seniors were given a poster board with the words "I WANT TO BE" already written. The results have been great over the years. I never tried it with younger children until a few days ago.
Hey Chuck, I always enjoy these posts. It was your HS I wanna be post where I 1st remembered thinking, 'whoa, this canerino dude is awesome.'
As far as the photography itself goes, I love it, lighting is great, expressions are wonderful, too. I imagine it could be hard to get good expressions outta 1st graders, well unless you act like a kindergartener, like you probably do ;-) Then they are just laughing at you.
However, speaking completely honestly. While it's hard to critique somebody whom I have a lot of respect for, I do have to say that I didn't find these quite as fun as the other times you've done it. I think for a couple reasons - they don't feel as personal to me, almost sterile or something. The other sets you've done seem to have more personality. I don't know if the kids wrote these themselves, but the penmanship feels too 'perfect' for 1st grade, and there are no little pictures and what have you on there, if you know what I mean.
I have to say Chuck, I love when you post this series. Seems like a lot of fun for you and the kids! Plus I must say, I find the difference in answers pretty cool.
One wants to be a dentist, yet another wants to be kind to everyone. Interesting how you had two kids that basically said the same thing...accepted / be part of the group. And two for fame also...
I absolutely love these. Their expressions are great, and each thing they wrote made me eager to read the next one. Each thing they wrote is like a little window into their mind. Many are touching on an individual level (like the kid who wants to get things right the first time), and the ensemble shows a variety that really makes you think about their lives, their background, their worries, their joys. Feel free to post many more.
I really like these. I'm glad you were able to get your son's class on board (I know how school districts can be, my wife is a teacher!).
Lighting is very nice, and very different from what we usually see from you - I think the kicker is a nice touch.
The only thing I noticed (and David did too) was the the penmanship was *too* good. If the kids had scrawled at least some of their own words in, we would have had just that extra little bit of personality. Keep in mind, this is nit-picky, and I don't pretend to be at your level photographically.
I like the concept. I don't think 1st grader's penmenship would have done the trick, so the adult writing is fine IMO. Not a fan of the lighting ie: the hotspot on their heads/faces...it's completely blown out on several of them.
I always like to see these type of shots but........ these responses look a little too advanced for kids (ie appears the subjects didn't have much input into what was on their posters). The other possibility is that the school is for advanced placement children. "Be active in my family"... Somebody is watching too much CNN and not enough Disney channel.
I may have seen your seniors and if it was the one I saw it was inspiring. I saw one a few months ago from a preschool where the responses were written on a little chalk board that was totally adorable. These just seem canned.
To answer a few questions. The teacher's handwriting was something that we decided on. We felt that it better conveyed their thoughts. As for their answers being advanced....I can assure you that the responses fit this class. This is a 'gifted' class (man, I hate that word) comprised of 19 total students in the entire district (there are 1000 first graders spread over 12 elementary schools). Their teacher did a two day lesson on the concept of 'I WANT TO BE' where she worked with each child individually. Each kid wrote an essay explaining what they wanted to be and why.
This is a terrific project! These are a welcome addition to the standard class photos. I still have school photos from that age. I hope they all hold on to their photo and reflect back when they are adults. They all aspire to great things and I hope they achieve them.
I noticed your boy doesn't want to be a photographer or teacher
I do like this concept overall though. I think the HS seniors had more "life" to them because they drew the posters themselves. But this still gets the message across- and will be a treasured memory for parents and child alike
Great stuff Chuck. I always enjoy your posts, especially the "I want to be..." series. My initial reaction was that they didn't seem to have a 1st grader type feel; however, after reading your explanation afterwards they now make more sense. You know it's really your fault because you set the bar so high for yourself when you posted that first high school "I want to be..." series.
Anyways, I think they are great. I also like the lighting. Great stuff as always.
