Autistic stare

[cherrym]

Hello everyone, ever since I got my 450D I've been lurking on POTN and I keep coming back to the Kids & Family and the Wedding session (not sure what that might imply actually ;-) ). I think it's a great place to learn and get some inspiration as to how to shoot my own son, Matthies. So, as part of coming out of the woodwork, I thought I would share a photo that is special to me. It's special because my son is autistic and he does not usually make much eye contact but for this photo I was able to get him to stare into the lens for a brief while. I converted it to black & white because to me that made it even more dramatic.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3109/3154237368_c25f3d5bd9_b.jpg

Shot with 18-55 kit lens but the eyes are sharp nonetheless ;-). C&C welcome!

[christyjo2]

There is nothing wrong with the kit lens, i have seen many great shots come from the 18-55 ;). Cute snap, and im sure you were thrilled to get a picture of him making eye contact.

[blizzz]

Thanks for sharing Cherry, this is a great shot of your son. I think the kit lens is just doing fine!

[Slaterza]

beautiful shot of your son and you are doing fine with the kit lens

[Paul J McCain]

18-55 is a great lens, don't be fooled by L obsession here, there are plenty of non-L lenses which will produce great images.

[Lonnie]

Good shot - the kit lens can perform very well in some applications. This was one of them.

[readysetgocapture]

Great shot, i understand your happyness with getting this shot. my brother who is now 18 is autistic (diognosted with the highest degree of autisim) i try to capture photos of him becasue we get along so well (even if his sosializing skills are bad he is a great friend) but he hates having his photo taken.
lovely shot :) from casey.

[cherrym]

Thanks everybody for the nice comments. Matthies has high functioning autism meaning that he's incredibly clever but lacks social skills. And snapshots are all we're going to get from him because he just CANNOT sit still. It's funny to see his school photos, he's always near the teacher (because he walks away otherwise, haha) or is looking away from the lens into the distance. And that in all fairness *is* what Matthies is like, so it's accurate :-).

[readysetgocapture]

Thanks everybody for the nice comments. Matthies has high functioning autism meaning that he's incredibly clever but lacks social skills. And snapshots are all we're going to get from him because he just CANNOT sit still. It's funny to see his school photos, he's always near the teacher (because he walks away otherwise, haha) or is looking away from the lens into the distance. And that in all fairness *is* what Matthies is like, so it's accurate :-).
thier cleverness can astound can't it...i call my little brother "a walking dictionary" he hates it but its true :) he always knows about what ever obsession he has at the time and he never forgets.
thanks for sharing this photo:)

[RebelChick]

There is nothing wrong with the kit lens, i have seen many great shots come from the 18-55 ;). Cute snap, and im sure you were thrilled to get a picture of him making eye contact.

I like this alot. Especially knowing how autistic kids temperment, and behavior is like... i know how special it must be to have him stare into your lens like that. Beautiful.

Thats all i used was the kit lens when i first started. I only got my 50mm 1.8 ,6 weeks ago... most of the 2nd and all of the 3rd page of my flickr was with the kit lens of the XTi.

[Honduh Chicken]

I looked at that photo and I thought "what a beautiful boy" regardless of what makes him different. I have to say, it tainted my view of the photo a bit because you mentioned his Autism. It wasn't needed, the photo looks great, with or without Autism.

Just saying.

[heycow]

This is just a cute photo and a very nice capture. The story behind it just makes it that much better. Also, from a photo point of view, it's a great B&W conversion which fits this photo nicely. I'm also partial to horizontal portraits, and this one is nice especially with the slight tilt of the head.

BTW, is there something that he will fix his gaze one? Food, etc? You can cut out a circular piece of paper and fit it around your lens and put stickers, drawings, etc on it for him to look at so it's not eye contact. Forgive me if that's not how it works, it's just a thought.

[readysetgocapture]

I looked at that photo and I thought "what a beautiful boy" regardless of what makes him different. I have to say, it tainted my view of the photo a bit because you mentioned his Autism. It wasn't needed, the photo looks great, with or without Autism.

Just saying.
how can him being autistic taint your view of the photo?
and 2nd it makes sence to say his is autisic because it is the story behind the photo and what makes the photo special.
just my view..

[Honduh Chicken]

how can him being autistic taint your view of the photo?
and 2nd it makes sence to say his is autisic because it is the story behind the photo and what makes the photo special.
just my view..

I don't know, it just kind of put me off a little bit is all, there are about a dozen things you can say about the subject. I didn't see a boy with Autism, I saw a boy with a story to tell, a boy who had a lot going on in his brain, etc.

I see your point about story behind the photo, but the reason I got into photography is because a good photo (like this one) IS the story.

[Honduh Chicken]

how can him being autistic taint your view of the photo?
and 2nd it makes sence to say his is autisic because it is the story behind the photo and what makes the photo special.
just my view..

Oh and to answer your question about how it "tainted" my view, is because it's kind of a spoiler. The first think I looked for in this photo was "what does an Autistic person look like?" then I thought to myself, why is the first think I'm looking for in this photo is a "difference", not the beauty of childhood, or the quality of the photo, or the million other things that makes the OP's "art" worth looking at.

[cherrym]

I don't know, it just kind of put me off a little bit is all, there are about a dozen things you can say about the subject. I didn't see a boy with Autism, I saw a boy with a story to tell, a boy who had a lot going on in his brain, etc.

I see your point about story behind the photo, but the reason I got into photography is because a good photo (like this one) IS the story.
Hi Honduh, I agree with you on some level and I did hesitate to put the extra information online but a photo can't always capture the whole story. And especially in the case of autism, even though it is a very pervasive disorder, most people can't tell just by looking at him or when they briefly encounter him. And then perhaps you might not see the bigger significance of my son looking into the lens so intently and calm at the same time. Perhaps it also has to do with my own acceptance and embracing of his condition, why should I hide it? I am proud of that little boy and I would not change a thing about him if I could, as hard as it may be sometimes. It's hard to be confronted with your own demons (I don't like to be in the spotlight) but for your kid you do it. And you come out a better, more balanced and stronger person. I know you didn't mean it like that but I'm just giving you some background information about my own reasoning so that you can better understand me :). No harm done, no offence taken, life is too short for that.

For the record and more on topic on POTN, I do have other photos of my son looking into the lens (and having the 55-250mm Kit Lens makes it easier) but this one really struck a cord with me. The first time I saw it, I was mesmerized, almost hypnotized by it. I couldn't stop staring at it.

Here are more typical images of him :-).

1
http://www.matthies.nl/2008/2008%2012%2014/slides/IMG_2054.jpg

He was very busy with the different states of matter and particularely gas and in this picture he is full of air ;).

2
http://www.matthies.nl/2008/2008%2012%2014/slides/IMG_2037.jpg

This one always makes me laugh, we were playing hide and seek ;). He does have a good sense of humour although irony and sarcasm are lost on him 100%.

3
http://www.matthies.nl/2009%2001%2021%20(Blurry%20&%20Beautiful)/slides/IMG_2413-Edit.jpg

I simply *love* this picture but it's blurry because he was moving about so much.

He's full of energy and can be all over the place. He's never been able to sit still and with the kit lenses it's not always possible to capture the moment. Because the moment you point the camera at him, he moves towards you, wants to grab the camera and see the image that you just took. He's just curious but getting him to pose is quite extra ordinary but we're getting there.

So thanks again everybody for the nice comments (about Matthies and the photo) and for the tips.

[readysetgocapture]

Lovely photos again :) the bucket one makes me laugh too, the last shot may be a bit blurry but id call it a keeper all the same :)..

P.s sorry for answering for you before with the comment made, i think i'm a little sensitive with the subject.

[coralnutz]

Great shot. I have an 8 year old girl with autism and also love being able to capture shots. (She doesn't like to sit for the camera or look at it)

[ArvThePie]

The Title got my attention when browsing through, and when I saw the picture, I didn't need to read anything, as his eyes & face tells his own story.
Great capture, lovely looking lad and thanks very much for sharing this with us.;)

Ps, we are among special needs children here also.;)

[Michael Bottoms]

Looking at that first picture--couldn't help but feel both sad and thrilled for you. I have an autistic son as well--high functioning, but there are always problems to deal with. Mine also is almost never still. I'm actually going to try and take some shots of him today, and I'm really unsure how successful I'll be. Regardless...that first pic is a keeper, as is that last blurry shot. Cute young man, and I wish you both much success as he grows to adulthood. I agree with all those who thought the little bit of the story helps to make the pic more real to us... Thanks for sharing

[mamamoose]

I love this shot and kudos on getting such amazing eye contact with the lens! As an SLP I am searching for eye contact all the time when working with my children with Autism...maybe I should bring my camera along on my home visits sometimes! :)
Great shot, beautiful boy.