Admittedly, it was tempting to zoom in on the two little kids as though a gust of wind had just dropped the blossoms on them.
It took me a little while to realize that the photograph here was the wide shot; the dad was actually what it was all about.
It’s a relationship story told with an overall shot.
The older I get, the more I appreciate the overall shot. I’ll never stop telling you to get in close on your subject, but every once in a while you need to know when to step back and show the whole thing. You need to show what tells the story—whether it’s a closeup or an overall.
Anne, my wife, saw this photo and pointed out that most amateur photographers would get in close on the kids—maybe even asking the father to “do it again.” I suppose that rang so true with me because it was the first thought I had when I was there.
But I finally came to my senses.
I’m not sure if seeing the story in an overall shot is a function of aging or experience—it may be a bit of both. I do, however, notice good photographers doing it and I try to take a page from their play book.
Have I taken more overall shots in the last five years than I did in the five years before that? I actually think so. Maybe there is something to the aging/overall photo relationship theory.
What do you think? Do YOU take enough overall shots?
