Laughing Audience

Never pass up the chance to photograph happy children, laughing heartily.

An audience of children enjoys a puppet show at the Morey Elementary School in Lowell, Ma. (© Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:
An elementary school puppet show usually provides a few photos of puppeteers with puppets either performing or interacting with children in the audience. On this occasion, the audience was the best part of the show, as the children were intently watching, laughing, cheering, gasping, giggling and yelling back to the puppets. I shot only one photo of the performers, but many great audience expressions and reactions, and this was the best. The only problem was the poor lighting required I use a direct flash for every shot, creating harsher lighting on the faces than if the auditorium had more adequate overhead lights. However, the facial expressions were so strong, the flash effect really didn’t detract from the powerful reactions. Many times, as in this case, the audience is the most photogenic part of the show – there was really no need to photograph the puppeteers.

3 Tips:
1) Expressions of children watching and reacting can be much stronger pictures than a shot of the event they are viewing.
2) If the lighting is not sufficient for naturally lit photos, don’t hesitate to use a flash, for you don’t want to miss a powerful picture.
3) Photograph a wide range of kids’ facial expression because you’ll often get increasingly better pictures.

“Here, You Take It”

Watch basketball action closely, stay ready to shoot, and you can sometimes photograph a behind-the-back pass.

Boston Celtics’ Chris Ford throws the ball back to teammate Rick Robey after being pressured by Seattle’s Dennis Johnson (© 1980 Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:
It’s always worth trying to get great photos by shooting from the sideline near center court because occasionally you might see some unique action pictures. On this evening, Boston Celtic Chris Ford (42) encountered Seattle Supersonic Dennis Johnson (DJ - #24)), who was one of the NBA’s best defensive players. When DJ jumped to block any Ford shot and bar his path to the basket, he quickly passed back to Celtic teammate Rick Robey (53), and I had an unusual photo of the ball being passed midway between the two players. Ironically, Johnson later was traded to Boston and became a key member of the famous 1980s Celtics’ championship teams.

3 Tips:
1) Sitting at center court gives you a unique angle on unusual photos.
2) Using a long lens enables you to isolate key players or specific plays from the busy background.
3) Be patient from this vantage point, because players will be running in front of you constantly, and photo opportunities will be less frequent.

End of the Rainbow

Although there was no pot of gold, this end of the rainbow provided a strong photo.

Tourist exults as he poses for a photo beneath a rainbow on the big island of Hawaii. (© Michael Maher).

The Photo:
Rainbows are challenging to photograph, not because taking the picture is so difficult, but because it’s tough to find brightly colored rainbows to make a strong photo. It’s hard to predict when a rainbow might occur, so you must be ready quickly when you see one. Driving along a vast open field on the Big Island of Hawaii (in the state of Hawaii), a light rain was falling, the sun came out, and a large rainbow appeared. I stopped the car and took several photos of the rainbow over the horizon, but there was nothing in the photo to illustrate the size of the rainbow. To make the photo stronger, I needed to put a person -- myself -- into the picture. I set my camera’s automatic timer, lined up the photo I wanted, ran into the open area, and posed under the end of the rainbow (where there was no pot of gold to be found), as the camera took the picture. There was no special trick to capturing the rainbow in a photo, for what you see is exactly what you get. However, rainbow colors are not always bright, so you may often need to add a little color enhancement to make the rainbow stand out more prominently in the picture.

3 Tips:
1) Rainbows are easy to photograph but difficult to find.
2) Include an object or person so the picture communicates the size of the rainbow.
3) You may sometimes want to enhance the rainbow colors in the final picture, since rainbows don’t always appear as bright colors.

“I’m SO Big”

Grandparents make especially great photographs when they act like kids while playing with their grandchildren.

Grandmother Catherine Maher plays mimicking game with granddaughter Colleen (© Michael Maher).

The Photo:
Grandparents love almost nothing better than playing with their infant grandchildren. One of the most popular games with infants is asking them “How big are you? You are so big,” and throwing both arms high into the air to demonstrate how big they are getting. Do this often enough, and the child begins to mimic your arm motions, extending their arms overhead, even if the child is too young to say the words. After my mother Catherine (called “Nana” by her grandchildren) found this to be a game that she and her new grandchild could play together, they did so over and over. All Nana had to say was, “How big is Colleen? She’s so big (emphasis on the ‘so’),” and Colleen threw her arms high overhead. After a while, she didn’t even need to look at her grandmother, just hear the words. I took this picture as they played this game multiple times one evening in the kitchen, when I was able to capture both of their faces and body language all at once.

3 Tips:
1) Grandparents playing with their grandkids can make for warm or funny pictures.
2) Include both the grandparent and grandchild’s facial expressions and/or physical body language in a way that shows the enjoyment of their interaction.
3) One photo opportunity is the grandparent and grandchild playing the “So Big” game as they both raise their arms high over their heads.

“Thank My Nine Lives”

Life-saving photo opportunities are extremely rare, and in this case, it was an animal, not a human.

Spectators check on a cat that was revived by receiving oxygen from firefighters after it was overcome by smoke during a Lowell, Ma. house fire (© Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:
Every photographer dreams of getting a life and death spot news photo, but one of my personal favorites was saving an animal, not a human. It was a slow evening until a fire call came over the police radio. Arriving at the scene, I saw firefighters exiting a house from which smoke was billowing and from which most occupants had been evacuated. One firefighter came out holding a cat, placed it in the corner of the front porch, and raced back into the house looking for additional occupants. There was no one else inside and he came out alone, walking more leisurely because he thought the danger was over. Some spectators alerted him that the cat didn’t seem to be moving, so he picked up the cat, put an oxygen mask on it, and laid it gently on the ground. Children gathered around to watch as the cat began to stir slowly, they touched the cat to feel it breathing, and it quickly recovered in good health. The firefighter’s oxygen saved it from smoke inhalation. (Note: the dark, wet spot on the pavement is condensation from the oxygen mask, not blood.)

3 Tips:
1) Life-and-death photos can be taken of animals as well as humans.
2) When possible, capture the concern expressed by rescuers, onlookers, or loved ones.
3) A photographer should always be ready to offer help before taking the picture.

Direct Hit

Inclement weather can provide many great photo moments, such as kids having fun in the snow.

Jason Wood, left, ducks and manages to score a direct hit on his friend Shane Fabian during a snowball fight in Westford, Ma. (© Michael Maher, The Lowell (Ma.) Sun).

The Photo:
When a snowstorm hits, photographers usually trek out in search of pictures that will illustrate the severity of the snowfall. After one storm, I saw two young boys throwing snowballs at one another, close enough that I could capture them both in a single photo, which is unusual. They were also playing next to a plain cement wall, which made for a very clean background to make the picture even stronger. I stopped quickly to get their pictures with a long lens, but they stopped momentarily when they saw me. However, I encouraged them to continue, and as I got ready to shoot, their battle resumed. Once they did, one kid got hit straight-on in the face, which hurt a bit. He stopped, yelled something to the other kid, and ran home. I got their names from the boy who remained, and told him to tell his friend I hoped having his picture in the newspaper would make him feel better. I felt a little guilty that the first kid got hurt, even though it was just a little bit, but it was a great photo.. The boy who stayed told me he was certain the fame of being in the paper would help his departed friend get over being mad.

Reminder:
1) Playing in the snow creates many different types of photo opportunities.
2) Snowball fights can make compelling photos, especially if you have both sides of the battle in your picture.
3) Look for a clean, clear background so all components -- the snow and the kids fighting – are clearly distinguishable in the picture.

“Open Wide”

Environmental portraits show people working in their typical professional environment, surrounded by their tools, customers, co-workers, etc.

Veterinarian works on cougar’s mouth at Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo operating room (© Michael Maher).

The Photo:
I elected to shoot a picture story of the head veterinarian who tended to the animals at Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo. Although he agreed I could follow him around and photograph him working, he would not make special arrangements or accommodations to set up photos for me because he was so busy. When he treated this cougar’s teeth, the background was a bright window, which created glare and made it hard to get a good photo, but he would not stop to close a shade or reposition himself to help my shot. However, I was able to maneuver around enough to get a clear shot against the bright windows of him working intently on the cougar. The animal was sedated, strapped still on the table and a device held the cougar’s mouth open, while an assistant also held its head. This is an example of one powerful type of portrait -- people doing their jobs -- for while it is not a facial close-up, the work and surroundings clearly convey their personalities.

3 Tips:
1) Occupational photos are one distinct type of environmental portrait.
2) Not all portrait and personality photos need to be facial close-ups.
3) Show the subject in the act of doing his/her job and, if possible, a facial expression.