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Rangefinder
Magazine Butterflies in Front of Your Lens or in
Your Tummy? by Karen Dórame
What’s a professional photographer to do? Some do the best they know how with special children, others do somewhat less than best while still others attempt to avoid the assignment altogether. Many photographers are just plain scared that they will not be able to produce the beautiful work to which their clients are accustomed. While most photographers are sympathetic to this concern, generally speaking, within the industry, much can be done to improve its image with respect to photographing children with special needs. Just ask the parents of those children. Special Kids Photography of America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving photographic services to families of special children. They recently conducted a survey to gather statistics surrounding those services. Although the survey was limited and only provided a brief indication of need, nearly 75 percent of the parents of disabled children reported that the photographer they used could benefit from specialized training.
One frustrated parent said, “Any time we would take [our little 7-year old disabled boy] into a portrait studio, the employees would hover together trying to decide who had drawn the short straw.” She continued to explain that most of the time the photographers were unaware of the “gross mistreatment” her son was receiving. This isn’t an isolated case. Special Kids Photography of America (SKPA) was originally created out of a mother’s frustration when she visited a portrait studio for the first time with her one year-old disabled child. The photographer tried his best to turn her away. Although pictures were taken and proofs produced, they clearly lacked special consideration that could have been provided to produce more than satisfactory results. Since SKPA’s creation, many parents have come forward to express the need for photographers to be educated in working, not only with disabled kids, but also with those who are seriously ill. More than one parent reports that when they went to obtain a professional photograph of their terminally ill child, they were turned away, with the added suggestion that they could return when the child’s hair grew back or when the tubes were no longer necessary. Unfortunately, these stories did not have happy endings.
Since national demographics indicate that nearly one in five persons has some type of disability, that should compute to at least 15 percent of a photographer’s clientele being blind, deaf, autistic or with some other kind of disability. Some conditions are very obvious, others hardly noticeable. Nevertheless, the photographer should be comfortable in asking the parent if there is anything about the child that he/she should know in order to make the best decisions concerning the photo. For instance, some children may be sensitive to certain types of lighting. Flickering studio lights or outdoor sun/shade patterns could trigger a seizure. Several types of disorders such as autism or Down syndrome are included in this category. In such cases, the best solution could be natural lighting.
This is where the pre-session interview with the
parent plays an important role. Gaining understanding about what the
child can or can’t do
will help the photographer plan whether to make a studio or environmental
shot or whether to use artificial or natural lighting. Does the parent
want the wheelchair to show? Can the child sit unassisted? These are
all questions that need to be addressed. Find a downloadable copy of
the interview form on the specialkid After learning more about the child’s possible behavior or physical limitations, the reader may determine that the photographer must take more the role of a professional care provider such as doctor or therapist than a photographer, even though the resulting “service” will result in positive images instead of x-rays.
Special Kids affiliated photographers have devised unique ways to photograph their clientele—some simple solutions, others very innovative. Jennifer Collins (Eatonton, Georgia), uses baskets or suitcases to support infants and young children who have spina bifida, a condition affecting the spine. Even the floor makes a great back support! Laura Popiel (Houston, Texas) has devised some very ingenious methods to achieve success in more than a few extremely difficult shoots. She found a Velcro brace in the surgical device section of a drug store. Laura determined this to be an ideal way to keep her little subject from bending over or scooting off a chair while attending her very own “dolly and me” tea party. She also finds clever lighted devices in the toy departments of large discount stores to use as attention-getters for certain children who could “lose it” with noisy objects.
Children who are blind or have other eye problems are generally not good candidates for direct eye contact posing. When learning of your sitting with with a child who is visually impaired, find out what the child likes to do. Looking down toward a favorite toy (have the mother bring it along) is a good option. The child shown opposite has additional issues that made it difficult to physically “capture” her and keep her located in one spot for any length of time. Therapists helped place her in the crook of a tree where they securely held onto her from the back.
Special Kids Photography of America offers training that will provide “accreditation” to photographers after successful completion of testing and approval of submitted photos. Contact information for accredited photographers is then listed on the SKPA website and is provided when requested. The SKPA logo can then be used in their promotional material such as business cards and website. The next SKPA Accreditation Training will be held near Phoenix, Arizona on October 13. Check out the web site: www.specialkidsphotography.com. for specific details.
With SKPA training, photographers become a lot more confident with special children and the parents a lot happier with the results. Unfortunately, it tends to be human nature for people to turn away when encountering a disabled child on the sidewalk or in the mall. Imagine the pride and exhilarating joy a parent feels when they see others pouring out praises over a beautiful portrait of their child—not a stoic studio pose—but a “living” picture of the child enjoying just one moment in life.
Karen Dórame, graduated in communications from Brigham Young University and worked in public relations prior to leaving the commercial sector to write Photographing Children with Special Needs and found Special Kids Photography of America, a nonprofit organization that “increases the face value” of children with special needs. Karen can be reached at (623) 572-0046 or by email at: kdorame@specialkidsphotography.com/.
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Ever worked
with butterflies? You don’t have to be a nature photographer
to encounter the fluttering, elusive aspects of a flighty subject
in front of your lens. As with a butterfly, simply asking a child
with autism to sit on a stool and smile for you is pretty much going
to be out of the question.
