Focus

I took portrait pics of Jimmy and Patricia and their little daughter Pearl a while back. Patricia's not so keen on having her photo taken. Can't blame her, neither am I. She did this thing almost every time I took a shot where she'd look down at Pearl and away from the camera. A modern day Madonna and child. So when I got this one of her looking straight at the camera and got the focus on Pearl and not on her I wasn't sure whether to be delighted or distraught: when I look at just the image I want her face to be in focus, but when I think of Patricia, and how she slipped out of my focus (metaphorically) through out the shoot, it's fitting that she's not in focus here. And I have to say that I quite enjoy the play between her direct gaze and the soft focus on her, and Pearl's looking away and the sharp focus on Pearl.

To Freebie or Not To Freebie

It's such a tricky question this one . . . should you offer friends or family freebies on photography? I've chatted to some other photographers about this and they've given me some stern advice on this score: people tend to think that all you're doing is 'taking photos'; they don't realise that there's skill and time and training and effort involved. The advice that I was given is that it's our job as photographers to make them aware of that skill and time and training and effort. That it's not just a simple matter of clicking the shutter and then handing over the digital negatives, especially not when it comes to the hours of post processing that we often get into. I know one photographer who gives a 30% discount for friends and family, which I initially thought was quite harsh, but now am beginning to think is quite reasonable as I've sudeently discovered 'friends' smooging around angling for a freebie. I've given freebies in the past, and I'll probably give them again in the future, but I'm really of the opinion that people shouldn't ask for a freebie, that a freebie is that once in a while freely given spontaneous thing. Something that's given because its a joy to give. Or because you feel like helping out a friend. So the advice that I now want is how to deal with those that just don't seem to get that and who, in the process, make the act of giving something vaguely unpleasant . . . like visiting the dentist! And me being the person I am, I still sit and agonise over not giving them the freebie! Bugger!