posers

It’s a given that kids will most likely ambush a photographer and strike a pose in front of the camera.  That’s how it has always been for me since I’ve started taking pictures of my neighborhood.  And almost every time that happens I will humor them and take a photo or two just to get them off my back, without ever having the intention of giving it a second look.  The main reason for that is my dislike for the “pogi pose” which comes very naturally to them.  “Pogi” is Filipino for handsome.

So I set out taking photos of children again as most of the adults were smart to hide from the midday sun.  This overgrown kid with a fancy camera just happens to be too dense to walk along the streets bareheaded without any sunscreen.

I might be mistaken but I think I’ve read somewhere that the legendary documentary photographer Steve McCurry had in some ways influenced the surrounding environment to get the shot he wanted of the Afghan girl, the photo of which became an iconic image featured in National Geographic.  If he had to interact with his subjects to get the shot he wanted, then what’s keeping me from doing the same?

So I told the kids that they’ll grow horns and big ears if they continue doing the pogi pose.  I sure scared them that they quit their posturing right away.

I think they look much better this way.

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Tags: b/w, black and white, documentary, documentary photographer, fancy camera, kids, midday sun, National Geographic, photography, photos of children, pogi, pose, Steve McCurry, street

• June 14, 2012
• streets of Tacloban
• 21 Comments