My nephew on the left was born with spina bifida. Has had dozens of surgeries. Despite his condition, he is the most amazing kid you'd want to meet.
The other nephew is an amazing athlete, and will probably play college ball one day. Great kid, too.
I thought this shot made an interesting study...
Any comments and critiques are welcome.
Thanks
-Tim
This photograph obviously holds special significance for you - thank you for posting it. It is an incontrovertible fact that everyone is dealt a different hand in life. However, those who take that hand and play it to the best of their abilities are the ones who exemplify the human spirit. I applaud you and your nephews.
On the other hand, from a pure photographic standpoint, this is a pretty bland image.
Perhaps, in the future, try a tighter crop and have them interacting in some way - show me that they're cousins. All I see here are two boys side by side in a field, centered in an image. Without your introductory information, I wouldn't know anything about them, why the athlete is holding some toy(?) in his hand, or who the cute kid in the wheelchair is.
Thank you for your response, Jonathan. When posting, I wondered the very thing you mentioned. Is this strong on it's own, or only to me because I know the two boys? I guess I liked the low shooting perspective and negative space at the top to accentuate the height of the taller boy.
They are playing a toss type game, so maybe more interaction would do this idea better.
Jim Rickards wrote:
Interaction is the key to making a shot like this more memorable. Get them looking at each other, doing something together etc.
You did lots of things right, but try one more and post again.
+1 Excellent observation (and suggestion) by Jim.
This posted image looks more like a "compare two boys" image rather than anything showing a personal relationship, love, friendship, attachment, kinship, affection, or "togetherness."
Interaction with one another would have helped establish a "bond" relationship.
As is, it looks simply like "boy in chair plus tall boy who needs no chair."
Of course, this is just an "objective" observation. And it is offered in a truly friendly tone of voice as a suggestion to help you with a different POV.
My Simple Suggestion: Make a photo where the chair is not such a central part of the image.
How?
Pick a POV and an activity where the two boys are more "equal" and engaged.
Because the chair is so massive, it tends to dominate how we (the objective viewer) sees the boy.
I suggest you get the objective viewer to "see" the boy as if the chair was not there at all.
This can be done even while he is sitting in the chair, so don't mistake my advice for suggesting a removal of the chair.
And for the "connection" between the two boys?
Lots of things come to mind for me...but that is the fun of thinking about the individuals. I am sure the boy in the chair is a complex individual who "goes beyond" the chair and lives a life "despite the chair" and so those are the aspects I would want to show.
Steady Hand wrote:
My Simple Suggestion: Make a photo where the chair is not such a central part of the image.
How?
Pick a POV and an activity where the two boys are more "equal" and engaged.
Because the chair is so massive, it tends to dominate how we (the objective viewer) sees the boy.
I suggest you get the objective viewer to "see" the boy as if the chair was not there at all.
This can be done even while he is sitting in the chair, so don't mistake my advice for suggesting a removal of the chair.
And for the "connection" between the two boys?
Lots of things come to mind for me...but that is the fun of thinking about the individuals. I am sure the boy in the chair is a complex individual who "goes beyond" the chair and lives a life "despite the chair" and so those are the aspects I would want to show.
