Little boy watching people dance at the festival. Someone was trying to coax him into joining . I thought his eyes showed what he thought of that idea.

Hi Roberta,

Great shot. Those eyes say it all. Good timing on catching this shot.

I like the candid nature of this photo...how did you handle this situation? Did you ask permission in advance? Did you know the family already? Approaching strangers for permission to photograph is just something I've never been able to do...
Jerry

great catch of thought conveyed through a look. Very nice conversion too.

Thanks Mark and Travis, I appreciate it very much.

Jerry, this was taken at the French Quarter Festival. There were a large number of people standing watching one of the groups playing. Folks with all sorts of cameras all over the place. I do not know the family and I did not ask permission. I was watching a lady trying to get him to dance. I was hoping to catch a big smile and delight as he started to dance, but he was not going to have anything to do with dancing.

I usually don't do people shots or street photography. Shamefully asking permission did not occur to me

No shame here, please ...its a beautiful photograph.

I understand about that; I got caught and accosted once when I made a photo of a family across a crowded park; they didn't appreciate feeling "stalked" - I apologized and showed them as I deleted it, but it kind of soured me on unobtrusive photography...that's why I never do "street photography" either - besides, I live fifty miles from an urban area, far enough to feel out-of-place with or without a camera!

Birds, deer, rocks, and hills never complain about poses, asking permission, or whether their butt looks fat!
Jerry
PS- Your Zenfolio site is Beautiful.

What a beautiful photograph. I love the expression in his eyes.

It's such a shame that society has become so paranoid that photography of children is so difficult and often frowned upon. I say keep up the good work and if someone has an issue with you taking their picture you can always apologise and delete it as mentioned above. That or get a really good zoom lense! ;-)

One small suggestion, I think the photograph would have even more impact if you cropped off a third from the right hand side and a little from the top of the image. (to get rid of the dude in the white T-shirt and help draw attention to the boy's eyes)

Thank you Jerry
Yes, I never think about getting permission, but I need to be mindful of it especially in todays world.

Mairi, I love your suggestion. I have cropped and reposted. Thank you so much.



Birdie

You're welcome. Looks great with the re-crop!

Mx

I liked it the first time, much more powerful with the new crop.

Gotta agree, the crop helps focus on the boy.

Very nice capture, I don't think people would mind so much about taking a photo so much if there wasn't so many sick o's out there that exploit children, i think it is better to ask and offer a copy of the photo, and explain what the photo is for, then its up to them whether to agree or not.

Norm

When I first viewed this I really felt it needed a tighter crop. It looks wonderful now. The Eyes are front and center where they should be. Well done!