Saw the shot and...did nothing

[Daneinbalto]

Last Saturday I was at the playground with my kids, carrying my camera. It was a pleasantly warm, bright day. At one point I notice a mother sitting on the edge of the sandbox sunning her nice legs. Hmm, I think, those legs would make a great shot. But I'm not really in the habit of taking pics of the lower extremities of strangers. Then I notice that my 4 year-old son is playing with construction toys with her daughter. Hmm, I could move over and stand next to the mother so her legs would enter the frame from the bottom right corner. The children would be in the center. Wouldn't that be a great shot? For reasons that are not entirely clear to me (maybe something about, would the woman realize I was taking a picture of her legs, or what would my wife think), I never get around to taking the picture. After a few minutes, it's too late.

Now I'm kicking myself for not having the wherewithal to getting that shot. I don't have many shots that are about more than a single subject matter, but this picture would have a complex subject/ground relationship. It could tell the story of how the children are still into playing with their construction toys but a day will come when they look at the world differently. As the picture looks in my imagination, it is the favorite shot I haven't done.

Did you ever see a great shot while you were carrying your camera and not do anything about it? Any regrets? How do you handle those regrets?

 

[emraphoto]

that used to happen to me. all the time (can't remember the last time it involved a pair of gams).

i take the picture almost 100% of the time now. regardless of looming consequences. so far no truly ugly situations however i did get attacked by a pimp and a few of his "lady friends" a few months back. good times.

take the picture, explain it later.

 

[Jack Ketch]

You could always buy a copy of "Leg Show" magazine, and try to mentally relive the experience.

 

[MickH]

I thought the hang-man was poking fun. I Googled "Leg Show" Magazine & it really exists!

It never ceases to amaze me what some members read.

TBH I often see pics that I might take, then common sense & decency (or my own up-tight English sensibilities) stop me. Yeah, everything in a public place is potentially up for grabs and maybe I'm being squeamish.

I've learnt not to agonise about it though.

 

[sleepyhead]

This happens to me sometimes. Often I regret not taking the shot because there really was no good reason not to (just being a wimp), but other times I think that the hesitation means something, like I wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation.

Perhaps yours is that latter kind.

 

[Windscale]

I do not seek to offend. And I would apologise if this is what I did. It was a good thing that you did not take the picture. Commomsense and decency, and the likely feeling of the subject (in this case the mother) should be respected. And this has gone well beyond the limits of candid photography. What would your reaction be if the mother in this case happened to be your wife and another photographer took your missed pic? Sure you will put your camera to some better use.

 

[David William White]

You made your call. But to appease the regrets, keep the idea alive, and stage it!

 

[OurManInTangier]

Sometimes you just have to listen to the little voice of your conscience; othertimes you override that voice and get a great pic....but every so often you end up with a meaningless image because it wasn't just your conscience but a voice telling you its really not worth it.

I agree with emraphoto though, I've learned to make the picture and decide what, if anything, to do with it later. I have masses of negs that are images where something was going on in my head but I took the shot anyway and it really wasn't worth it...they'll just never see the light of day.

 

[furcafe]

See Michael David Murphy's Unphotographable blog:

http://www.unphotographable.com/

 

[Bob Michaels]

Did you ever see a great shot while you were carrying your camera and not do anything about it? Any regrets? How do you handle those regrets?

You can never go back in time, but you can learn from history as you move forward.

Almost everyone has passed on photos they should not have. Many of us have pushed for photos that we should not have. It is a balance where the mid point seems to be continually moving. There never is a right or wrong, just personal judgment we later question.

 

[edodo]

I just say this in part because I am a man and a feminist at the same time, but everything about sexyness and nice tig ol' bitties or nice legs is what we call "libido dumbness" (don't get offended, I am a dumb libido guy myself). Just that a nice pair doesn't make a good shot for the half of the earth, meaning all women! 😛 I love to shoot beautiful girls too but I know that it's mediocre shooting. Again all my apologies to every offended people, just the women cause is not won at all. I like very much what Winogrand use to say, that women have such a powerfull thing to them, they are dynamic and charismatic to take picture of.
Maybe I think too much, nice legs can make a good shot! 😉

 

[Spider67]

That would be fair.

That would be fair.

You made your call. But to appease the regrets, keep the idea alive, and stage it!

Yes stage it: You could find a willing model that is yearning to have great pics of her legs.
.....or you could have to explain to your wife the starnge shot you took....

but just like emraphoto when in doubt i make the picture and decide later.
best Regrds
Des

 

[Damaso]

All the time. Sometimes it's nicer to watch the sunset than to try and photograph it. Whenever I "miss" a moment I try to remember that life is full of them and just enjoy what I'm looking at...

 

[hans voralberg]

Sometimes I do, some times I don't regret. Mostly because it's so fast I can't respond, at least I'm lucky enough to witness them I guess.

 

[Vics]

I was walking down the Rue de Rivoli in Paris on a crowded sidewalk when five chefs stepped out onto a loading dock in their white coats and toques for a smoke break and my wife said get a shot of those guys! I raised my camera and one of the guys looked at me, so I put the camera down. That was many years ago,, and I still regret not getting that shot! They were raised up above the heads of the crowd and in clear view! Would have been a great one! I never hesitate anymore.
Vic

 

[btgc]

It happens to me all the time, every day. Reality is fluid stream, and it changes too rapidly to allow minutes to make decisions "shoot or pass". It's not only street/candid, nature does same - say, light can change in a few seconds and instead of mystical sky one can easily get boring snap.

That said, there are two options - moderate yourself before pulling trigger or follow instincts, shoot away and if shot happens ethically doubtful, one can always simply delete scan/prints and even file or film.

 

[noimmunity]

I can't understand why people like taking photos of strangers?

 

[aniMal]

In order to become a good photographer, it is really necessary to learn to SEE... And also to see what works an what works not. The first is about opening up and becoming more conscious, the second is hard work.

When I see moments that would have become great photographs, I simply put it down as learning to see better. Nothing blocks you more from being creative than believing that you should catch everything that comes around, in my opinion that is.

And then, often when you get those moments, they do not work at all in retrospect... That one should put down to learning to see what really works and what does not. When the moments one sees start matching what actually works, one is getting somewhere - and probably getting a style as well...

That being said, of course nothing feels better than seeing an image waiting for you, being fast enough and actually getting it. And then it works in retrospect, that combination is what really makes me want to go on forever as a photographer!

So, leave the camera at home sometimes - and just walk around looking - with the intention of really SEEING...

 

[antistatic]

I can't understand why people like taking photos of strangers?

Because a stranger is a friend you haven't met. (With apologies to "Streetcar" the musical)

 

[noimmunity]

Because a stranger is a friend you haven't met. (With apologies to "Streetcar" the musical)

And we are all strangers, even to ourselves. :angel:

The other question is: do I like looking at photos of strangers? Quite often not nearly as much as photos of people I know.