Tips: Blind Subject?

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Archive 2009 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Evan Baines
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p.1 #1 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Howdy folks. I've been commissioned to take fitness photos for a natural body building competitor coming up next week.... I've got plenty of fitness experience, but this one is a special challenge: the subject is blind. Does anyone have any particular tips for photographing a blind subject? This will be a first for me.

Thank you!

Aug 27, 2009 at 09:43 PM

Beowulfenator
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p.1 #2 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Have him wear sunglasses?

Aug 28, 2009 at 06:32 AM

RDKirk
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p.1 #3 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Talk to him. If he's had significant experience in competition (where all aspects of appearance do count), he may already know what he needs to do.

Aug 28, 2009 at 10:44 AM

Napalm
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p.1 #4 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Sandbag your lightstands.

Aug 28, 2009 at 11:17 AM

nathanlake
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p.1 #5 · Tips: Blind Subject?

RDKirk wrote:
Talk to him. If he's had significant experience in competition (where all aspects of appearance do count), he may already know what he needs to do.

+1...Even if he has no competitive experience, he will almost certainly have some input. He will also have an assistant. Talk to him/her.

Aug 28, 2009 at 04:38 PM

NinaS
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p.1 #6 · Tips: Blind Subject?

just because your client is blind does not make them handicapped, and if you treat them as such, you may as well shoot yourself in the foot

this client is no different than a person with sight, they are your client, you are being hired to take their pictures in a certain style, there is no difference between them and another client.

shoot them as you would any other client, explain what you want, maybe you can't show them what you want as far as the pose, but you should be able to explain, and if they are a competative body builder, they already know to pose, so all you need to do, is say please change the pose, and voila, they will

just keep your communication open

do not treat him/her any different, or you will loose all positive momentum they had when they arrived.

Aug 28, 2009 at 11:06 PM

TTLKurtis
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p.1 #7 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Napalm wrote:
Sandbag your lightstands.

. Not a bad idea.

Aug 29, 2009 at 05:01 AM

Ryan Britton
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p.1 #8 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Evan Baines wrote:
Howdy folks. I've been commissioned to take fitness photos for a natural body building competitor coming up next week.... I've got plenty of fitness experience, but this one is a special challenge: the subject is blind. Does anyone have any particular tips for photographing a blind subject? This will be a first for me.

Thank you!

If you have any questions as to what the subject might or might not want or be able to do, just ask. They'll definitely appreciate that more than you trying to tiptoe around your perceptions. We've had wedding couples or various handicaps and we've also done ski photos on the slopes as well. In our experience, they won't fault you at all for asking what they're comfortable with and able to do.

Aug 29, 2009 at 08:12 AM

FSJ_Guy
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p.1 #9 · Tips: Blind Subject?

NinaS and Ryan Britton speak wise words. Ask the subject.

If you were photographing a horse, wouldn't you ask the owner what special things to look out for, such as ear position, leg stance, etc? If you could ask the horse, you would, of course. But the horse can talk, of course, so you ask the owner.

In your case, you're lucky since you and your subject can communicate. Ask him or her if there is anything that you should be aware of. Let your subject know that you've shot bodybuilders before, but tell him or her flat out that you haven't photographed a blind subject before and that you are asking for their advice.

Now you have put your subject in a position of leadership with the ability to help someone in need. Pretty nifty, eh?

You might even mention that some wise guy on a photo forum told you to secure your light stands, but you thought it would be best to get the advice straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

Aug 30, 2009 at 05:34 AM

nathanlake
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p.1 #10 · Tips: Blind Subject?

NinaS wrote:
just because your client is blind does not make them handicapped, and if you treat them as such, you may as well shoot yourself in the foot

this client is no different than a person with sight, they are your client, you are being hired to take their pictures in a certain style, there is no difference between them and another client.

shoot them as you would any other client, explain what you want, maybe you can't show them what you want as far as the pose, but you should be able to explain, and if they are a competative body builder, they already know to pose, so all you need to do, is say please change the pose, and voila, they will

just keep your communication open

do not treat him/her any different, or you will loose all positive momentum they had when they arrived.

I don't think the OP was asking about abilities so much as appearance. Many blind people are somewhat self-conscious about the appearance of their eyes. Since portraits focus on the eyes it is reasonable to be concerned about this.

One other idea...you might ask about pictures the subject has had taken in the past to get an idea of how others may have handled it.

Aug 30, 2009 at 01:16 PM

RDKirk
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p.1 #11 · Tips: Blind Subject?

I don't think the OP was asking about abilities so much as appearance. Many blind people are somewhat self-conscious about the appearance of their eyes. Since portraits focus on the eyes it is reasonable to be concerned about this.

That's why I said, "Talk to him." If this person has been in competition, he has probably already worked out the "problem" of the appearance of his eyes to the general public.

Aug 30, 2009 at 03:25 PM

Evan Baines
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p.1 #12 · Tips: Blind Subject?

RDKirk wrote:
I don't think the OP was asking about abilities so much as appearance. Many blind people are somewhat self-conscious about the appearance of their eyes. Since portraits focus on the eyes it is reasonable to be concerned about this.

That's why I said, "Talk to him." If this person has been in competition, he has probably already worked out the "problem" of the appearance of his eyes to the general public.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone!

Some notes:
The subject is female, and this is her first time in competition. She only lost her sight a few years ago as I understand it. She has a trainer to help with posing, and I hope to be able to rely on this person a good bit. This will not be my first time working with a differently-abled subject, but I am specifically interested in the question of the eyes, as I was made to understand it is frequently a subject of self-consciousness for the blind, AND the matter of what and where one focuses the eyes on can frequently make or break a portrait.

I'm excited about the session, and confident that we will collaborate and get her some great photos. I was mostly interested to see if any of the excellent other pros here have any experience with this sort of situation.

Aug 30, 2009 at 03:36 PM

RDKirk
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p.1 #13 · Tips: Blind Subject?

This will not be my first time working with a differently-abled subject,

This is a personal irk of mine, but as euphemisms go, "differenly abled" is one of the most useless.

Superman is "differently abled."

Aug 30, 2009 at 11:20 PM

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p.1 #14 · Tips: Blind Subject?

I'm guessing the tricky bit is that there is no point in saying "Look directly into the camera". If you want the eyes "looking" at the camera, there will need to be a lot of direction given, so you'll need to break that ice early on.

the big question to ask is, does she want eye contact in the images, or to look like she is gazing off to one side, up, down, whatever. Once you know what she wants, your over half way home. I've seen your wedding work, I'm sure you're used to dealing with tall/short/fat/whatever-you-care-to-mention folks that are consious of their features that they might like to hide, or might like to show off. Same thing.

And lets see the shots afterwards!

Merv.

Sep 11, 2009 at 05:54 PM

MarcyJillGood
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p.1 #15 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Evan Baines wrote:
RDKirk wrote:
I don't think the OP was asking about abilities so much as appearance. Many blind people are somewhat self-conscious about the appearance of their eyes. Since portraits focus on the eyes it is reasonable to be concerned about this.

That's why I said, "Talk to him." If this person has been in competition, he has probably already worked out the "problem" of the appearance of his eyes to the general public.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone!

Some notes:
The subject is female, and this is her first time in competition. She only lost her sight a few years ago as I understand it. She has a trainer to help with posing, and I hope to be able to rely on this person a good bit. This will not be my first time working with a differently-abled subject, but I am specifically interested in the question of the eyes, as I was made to understand it is frequently a subject of self-consciousness for the blind, AND the matter of what and where one focuses the eyes on can frequently make or break a portrait.

I'm excited about the session, and confident that we will collaborate and get her some great photos. I was mostly interested to see if any of the excellent other pros here have any experience with this sort of situation.

The fact that she lost her sight in recent years is helpful - she will also understand where you're coming from. My mother lost her sight later in life, and she adapted so well that it was often difficult to remember she couldn't see. She should be able to hear your voice, if you want to tell her 'look this direction,' or easily adjust her position to the left, right, look up, look down. While she might be self-conscious about her appearance, it's also possible that she is quite proud of living life to the fullest no matter what the challenges. A photo that shows what she deals with in life would be a powerful shot.

Yes, please show us your shots afterward - this is an interesting assignment, and one that touches our hearts.

Marcy

Sep 11, 2009 at 07:30 PM

mdude85
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p.1 #16 · Tips: Blind Subject?

RDKirk wrote:
This will not be my first time working with a differently-abled subject,

This is a personal irk of mine, but as euphemisms go, "differenly abled" is one of the most useless.

Superman is "differently abled."

Hah. I was thinking the same thing. I was wondering what different abilities a blind person might have that a person who can see would not normally have.

Sep 11, 2009 at 08:11 PM

Evan Baines
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p.1 #17 · Tips: Blind Subject?

mdude85 wrote:
RDKirk wrote:
This will not be my first time working with a differently-abled subject,

This is a personal irk of mine, but as euphemisms go, "differenly abled" is one of the most useless.

Superman is "differently abled."

Hah. I was thinking the same thing. I was wondering what different abilities a blind person might have that a person who can see would not normally have.

Enhanced sense of hearing, touch, smell, and taste for one. I welcome you to pit your hearing against the average blind person's, or attempt to read braille

Perhaps its a lame euphemism, but as I choose to put my real name on this site, I try to be careful with what I post.

The shoot is now scheduled for early November. I will post the images.

I'd also like to say that honestly, I consider the fact that the client won't be able to evaluate the work herself to put even more responsibility on me to do my best work. She's REALLY trusting me.

Thank you all for the advice!

Sep 11, 2009 at 08:14 PM

mdude85
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p.1 #18 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Evan Baines wrote:
mdude85 wrote:
RDKirk wrote:
This will not be my first time working with a differently-abled subject,

This is a personal irk of mine, but as euphemisms go, "differenly abled" is one of the most useless.

Superman is "differently abled."

Hah. I was thinking the same thing. I was wondering what different abilities a blind person might have that a person who can see would not normally have.

Enhanced sense of hearing, touch, smell, and taste for one. I welcome you to pit your hearing against the average blind person's, or attempt to read braille

So you would call someone who has very good hearing but who is not blind, "differently abled"?

In any event .... there are some people who are blind who do not have the classic "staring into space" look. Have you met the subject yet ?

Sep 11, 2009 at 08:18 PM

FSJ_Guy
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p.1 #19 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Evan Baines wrote:
I'd also like to say that honestly, I consider the fact that the client won't be able to evaluate the work herself to put even more responsibility on me to do my best work. She's REALLY trusting me.

Thank you all for the advice!

With an attitude like that, I'm sure you'll do fine.

Sep 11, 2009 at 11:56 PM

RDKirk
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p.1 #20 · Tips: Blind Subject?

Enhanced sense of hearing, touch, smell, and taste for one. I welcome you to pit your hearing against the average blind person's, or attempt to read braille

Not enhanced, but more closely attended.

My problem with such euphemisms is that they do not carry any information. "Differently abled" does not contain any information. If the OP had opened this topic with, "Differently abled subject," what could anyone have told him? We'd have to first find out what it really meant.

Sep 12, 2009 at 02:03 AM

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