6.  Let the Subject Rule.



There's an old saying that goes, "Snapshooters *Take* Photos,

while photographers *Make* them".  Ideally, a photographer

likes to have control over the shoot, from the lighting, props

and scenery, pose, expression, and so on.  But this isn't

always possible.  Sometimes you just have to take what's

offered and hope it works.



This is especially true with animals and small children. 

Neither one take direction very well, but they are both so good

at being candid, or themselves, that you often end up with a

better photo anyway.  So, go with the flow and don't fight

them.  Let them run things.



An example is a gorgeous Himalayan cat that I photographed a

while back.  He was very friendly and cooperative, but after

taking a few shots of him sitting in a small chair, he decided to

do what *he* wanted to do and quit listening to us humans. 

I turned away for a second and when I looked back, I hurriedly

got the photo below.  Notice the caption I added.  It

fits!

("Turn your head a little to the right!   Sit

up straight,,, you're slouching!  Raise your

left ear a bit!   I HATE this!)

Another tactic to use with pets and small children is to

hold them.  Beauty, the Dalmation, was one of the

friendliest dogs I have ever seen.  The trouble was that

when I would call her name or make a noise to get her to look at

me, she would immediately start coming to me.  So, with a

little help from Mindy, we got Beauty to stay put.  Although

it doesn't look like it in the photo, Mindy is very emphatically

holding Beauty in position. Shooting at the right split second

yielded a "casual" looking shot.

Parents are usually indispensable at putting children at

ease and coaxing them into various situations.  Very often a

fabric draped over a mother, with the baby on the mother's lap,

will produce a very contented child and a nice shot of just the

baby, with no visible mother to be seen.  Toys, golf balls,

pets, and whatever else will capture a child's attention, will

serve to keep them in a certain area or setting for a short

period, hopefully long enough to get a good shot.  And it

may not matter if the child is playing with a chocolate bar and

getting it all over their lap (Well, it may to the

parents).  But if you follow one of my previous suggestions

and move or zoom in, you can avoid whatever is keeping the

child's attention and get a photograph where it's completely out

of view. Have you ever noticed that a child or pet on the floor

is free to run wherever they want to?  Putting that child or

pet on a chair, stool, table, inverted pail, whatever, gets their

attention for a short moment of time, sometimes long enough to

get a nice shot. I got a great shot of a baby once when I had her

mother hand her a cordless phone and say, "It's for you!". 

And what child can resist sitting in a basket full of popcorn?

Alexis is the 1998 National Baby Winner

and the Photogenic Winner of the

Glamour Dolls Nationals, held May 22, 1998,

in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

For other photos of Alexis select the

Pageant Icon on the Main Page.

One last thing about critter shots.  Pets and animals

generally look better with their mouths closed, but getting them

to do that is sometimes a problem.  Very often an abrupt,

loud noise will do the trick, but for just a split second. 

I sometimes kick the floor with a foot, since I'm laying down on

it anyway half the time, and that might work.  Or make a

high pitched squeeking sound with your mouth.  I don't

resort to cheap tricks like rubber squeek toys or noisemakers

simply because I think too much of the animals.  I mean,

would *you* like it if someone got your attention by squeezing a

rubber duck?  No!  It's demeaning!