These Kids are Gonna Make Me Look Bad.

One of these days, these children of mine are gonna make me look silly. I'm telling ya, just down right ridiculous.

For several years now I've been busting tail to be a proficient image maker, and still do, DAILY. So when The Munchkin (7yo) just sits right down, and makes something totally decent with what seems to be the minimal amount of effort, it brings mixed emotions. I'm proud of her, and typically in awe of what she can do, but sometimes what she can do is a little unsettling.

Let's go back a couple of weeks...

Zach Arias (www.zarias.com) and CreativeLive.com were live streaming a lighting workshop taught by Zach. Between house chores, I was trying to watch as much of it as possible. However, The Munchkin was GLUED to the monitor. She really couldn't get enough. I'd seen her show moderate, but sporadic interest in photography before, but NEVER anything like this. So I decided to give her a small lighting workshop here at home, to see how she'd really like DOING it.

Of course, she loved it. I think that if I had made it more like a workshop I would teach adults, where she would've had to pack and set-up equipment, she wouldn't have liked it so much, but again, she's 7.

Here's her best image:



I would like to mention that there has been no post-processing on this image other than re-sizing.

Some photogs out there may say: "Well, it was professionally lit, all she did was snap the frame." NO! Yes I did light it, but what really got me was her specific questioning. "Can we do something shiny." "I don't like those white spots, how do I make them go away?" "Can we put a shadow here?" "How about a reflection?" These things are what impress me. For a 7 yo, with very little photo experience, to display such an advanced level of pre-visualization is uncanny.

Back to my mixed emotions.
If she can do THIS now, what will she be able to do at 14? 18? She's gonna make me look bad. Yes, I said it. I feel a competitive threat from my 7 yo step-daughter. Sue me. But on the bright side, maybe I can stop saving for college :) And as for the boy, yeah he's 4 months old, so maybe its too early to tell. But, he can VERY CLEARLY recognize certain photographs and images. And he has opinions: some he likes, some not. He is particularly fond of images by his sister, or of his sister.
He and his sister are gonna team-up, I just know it.

These Kids are Gonna Make Me Look Bad.

And MY favorite shot from our little workshop: