Male or Mail Stop?

Using signs creatively can convey a contradictory or funny meaning for your picture.

Driver of U. S. Mail truck seems to read the sign wrong as he stops in front of a “Male Stop” sign in Lowell, Ma. (© Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:

Signs help explain your photo further or add humor by communicating a different meaning from what is typically intended.  I had passed the Male Stop clothing store in Lowell, Ma. many times and repeatedly noticed the big sign, but when a mail truck stopped in front of the store, it momentarily provided me with a chance for an amusing shot.  Fortunately, I was walking along in the right location, had all my camera gear handy and the truck was stopped momentarily for a red light in just the right place.  After I shot two frames, the light changed, the truck moved, and the photo was gone, but I was able to capture a humorous picture.  Had I missed getting the shot, I at least had the great idea, and would have tried capturing this photo another time.

3 Tips:

1) Signs can help create humor when they communicate a different meaning in the photo than what it typically intends.

2) Other times signs can be used in a straightforward way to further explain what is going on, such as the location or activity.

3) Because signs are often in place for long periods of time, you’ll have repeated opportunities to create great sign photos.

We Need Help -- Now!

A sign can be a valuable prop when it conveys a humorous meaning to the activity in your photo.

These two shovelers weren’t the only ones who needed help when winter’s first storm dumped six inches of snow on the ground. Barry Meuse, left, and Rich Silk do their best to clear the driveway of the gas station where they work on Rte. 38 in Lowell, Ma. (© Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).



The Photo:
A good photographer always keeps his or her eyes open for humor, and one approach is using signs that convey a funny meaning to what’s going on. This photo jumped out at me as I drove along on a very snowy evening, and I spied two gas station workers shoveling the entrance to their station next to a “We Need Help” sign designed to attract new employees. These two shovelers definitely needed help that night, and when I saw this shot, the only way I could photograph it was with a flash, for it was too dark to shoot otherwise. The heavy snow also meant the light from my flash wouldn’t travel as far, so I had to shoot from closer up. The sign made the picture far more interesting than it would have been with just two people shoveling snow.

3 Tips:
1) Inclement weather photos are almost always newsworthy.
2) Use signs to make your photo stronger by conveying an alternative meaning to the activity in the picture.
3) If you need a flash to take a bad weather photo, position yourself close to the subject because the light from the flash won’t travel as far as usual.