Life Library of Photography. Photographing Children

Time-Life Books, 1971. — 238 p. — (Life Library of Photography)The Life Library of Photography series consists of 17 volumes. The books cover all the main aspects of photography: technology and equipment; shooting methods; film processing and photo printing; history of photography; photography as an art form.The book “Photographing Children” is a starting point if you are looking for instruction on photographing youngsters. It tells a brief history of photographers most interested in the subject of children, and how adults determine how to portray children. The editors were also interested in the overall growth of a child — from infancy to adolescents.It is most interesting to see how adult photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mary Ellen Marks, George Krauss, and Ralph Eugene Meatyard interact with children. This book is not for modern photographers, using DSLR cameras, because suggestions are given on how to get certain effects on film cameras. Examples include exposures, types of film, and how photographers achieved certain colors. Anecdotes from photographers are brief, but make the readers think of why they are interested in the subject of children.Overall, it’s a good starting point if parents or professionals are interested in the history and different techniques involved with child photography. It is brief, yet informational for those who have their own children and hardly have time to read. It is also great for professionals to use as a spark of inspiration to look back on every now and again. It is good to look to the past to move forward in the industry.