The other day I talked about my preference for photographing parents interacting with their children when they’re unaware of the camera. I find my approach is often quite different when photographing kids one on one. In these cases I invite the subject to connect with me and my camera…..I like when they’re camera aware.

The reason for this is simple: young children have the gift of tender-hearted vulnerability. Whatever they observe they take in completely, and without the usual barriers we adults typically erect to keep us protected. It is this trait, along with the awe they exhibit when contemplating a butterfly, or rock, or most anything they come into contact with, that causes them to be my favorite subjects to photograph.

It is in these moments, when a child allows me fully into themselves, that I feel most free to open to the tender-hearted vulnerability that is also residing in me. Under most circumstances vulnerability is seen as a negative, as it suggests being open to attack and exposing oneself to all sorts of potential threats and dangers. And yet being vulnerable is the only path that leads to intimately experiencing life, complete with all its bitter and sweet.

Children know this.



~Cynthia