There is an Angel in there!

[wildmaven]

This guy was full of energy and I have about 100 photos of him making silly faces:

Somewhere in the middle of it all, this photo appeared:

 

[Alpha]

I hate to burst your bubble, but in that photo it looks like he has autism.

 

[The Phototron]

The second shot is okay, but the eyes are soft. Did you apply blur without masking the eyes and teeth?

It could also use a tighter crop and contrast:

The pose is okay, but his smile is sort of forced or refrained.

 

[souljourney]

I hate to burst your bubble, but in that photo it looks like he has autism.

What a rude and insensitive thing to say. First of all not all autistic kids have a "look" to them. Second of all...that was just plain insensitive.

 

[ShaCow]

I hate to burst your bubble, but in that photo it looks like he has autism.

haha

 

[gpimages]

something rude from Max....what a shock.......why he is allowed to dish out some of what he does is beyond me.

 

[wildmaven]

Thanks, Phototron. I like the edit, except the crop. His ear looks like it's bumping the side of the photo.

 

[Viperjet]

What a rude and insensitive thing to say. First of all not all autistic kids have a "look" to them. Second of all...that was just plain insensitive.

Um, yea. The first thing I noticed was that there was a cute kid in the photo making funny faces...

 

[Alpha]

What a rude and insensitive thing to say. First of all not all autistic kids have a "look" to them. Second of all...that was just plain insensitive.

The "look" is often a defining outward characteristic of autism and its related mental illnesses. It's a generalization...precisely because it's generally the case.

I don't believe it was insensitive. It reminded me of an autistic child, and that's why I think it's unflattering. I'm not going to apologize for that. It's what struck me about the image.

And let me preempt any argument on that point simply by saying that it's absurd to argue that one of parents' most feared diagnoses is not mutually exclusive with flattering.

You want a substantive critique? Fine. Everything from the bridge of the nose upward is out of focus.

 

[wildmaven]

I was trying out my new 50mm f1.4 lens, and focusing was tough on a kid who moved around that much, ha ha. I eventually switched to my 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens which allowed me to follow him better.

 

[doobs]

I hate to burst your bubble, but in that photo it looks like he has autism.

Haha, I thought that too.

Half his face is out of focus and the highlights are near blown on the high-contrast version. His nose blends in with his face.

 

[Alpha]

I was trying out my new 50mm f1.4 lens, and focusing was tough on a kid who moved around that much, ha ha. I eventually switched to my 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens which allowed me to follow him better.

Were you auto or manual-focusing?

 

[wildmaven]

Were you auto or manual-focusing?

Auto, eek. He was moving too fast to manual focus. :er:

 

[Alex_B]

I agree that the autism statement was brought forward like a slap in the face, since it was not wrapped into any soft padding and it was given as a minimalistic statement.

It reminded me of an autistic child, and that's why I think it's unflattering.

... but I think he has a point here.

I think the problem with the expression on his face is, that normally children have this look only if they are extremely fascinated and pleased by something they see ... when they see something they consider wonderful which puts them into a dream like state of admiration and fascination.

The problem with the image is, that it gives no indication whatsoever why this kid could have this facial expression. If it was just there for two seconds, well, this happens, but on a photo it is frozen then forever. And if you then look at it, it leaves a strange impression.

Silly face number 3 looks way more natural and cute to me. It seems to show much more of his personality and wins over all the other images IMHO.

 

[wildmaven]

normally children have this look only if they are extremely fascinated and pleased by something they see ...

It was me! :mrgreen: Hahahah...the mom said she's never seen him so happy during a photo shoot.