Photography or Racism

nilagin

nilagin

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You may have seen this reported on the news and this morning it is one of the topics for discussion on BBC Radio London. A school was having the childrens annual school photos taken. The photographer was pushed for time to finish towards the end of the day and had asked for children to be grouped in skin tone so that he wouldn't have to keep altering his settings etc. This was for individual photos not a group shot. Is this racism or just common sense to speed up the process and make things easier. The teachers are being criticised for allowing this to happen. It could so easily have been grouping the children by height so the tripod didn't need adjusting so often.
I think some people are just looking too deeply for something that just isn't there. But then I'm no expert on photography.
 
what a load of PC twaddle
if he'd sorted by gender, height, colour, hair-style
wtf difference does it make

if he'd refused to take pictures based on those criteria, different matter altogether
 
unbelieveable! :bang:

getting rid of racism is not going to be done by the PC brigade making us all pretend that people don't look different. It's done by working to get people to see that we look different but feel, hope, dream, live and die in exactly the same way.

God people are bloomin thick sometimes. :cuckoo:
 
How the hell is it racism?

Racism is treating someone in a derogatory way due to their race, not actually distinguishing that they are of a different race...There's a big difference.
 
Its perfect common sense! What a complete load of tripe :shake:
 
How is it possibly racism? He didn't discriminate between the children based on their skin tone.

People cry racism far too quickly these days. Usually white middle class people with an overactive sympathy gland.
 
Typical PC brigade yet again trying to pretend they are doing good. They are the real idiots here and are only trying to justify their existence - they make me sick.
 
If he had been pressed for time and said he wouldnt photograph them it would be a different matter but asking for them to be ordered in an order that would significantly speed up workflow is a perfectly acceptable request.

Its quite obvious people dont actually know what racism is and go out looking for things that meet their false criteria for racism. Racism isnt acknowledging that somebodys skin colour is different.
 
It reminds me of the outcry a few years ago when a Luton Councillor advised (on local Radio) that "*dark skinned children" be extra careful at night in the dark. You would think that it was a common sense idea but it was described as Racist & offensive :shrug:


* I can't remember the exact phrase but it wasn't in any way offensive
 
I think what he did was appalling.

Some of those poor disadvantaged children desperately trying to look like Gangsta Rappers might not have even realised that they are white!

Just imagine how this thoughtless and discriminatory action might have traumatised someone like DJ Tim Westwood for example. Being singled out as NOT in fact from the hood but a grammar school kid from Suffolk...devastating!
 
:lol:

Acknowledging that people have different coloured skin isn't at all offensive or racist! It's a fact of our multicultural (ooh get me ;)) society and the world we live in!

I suppose we're seeing it from the other side in that we know that different skin tones require different settings on the camera. The general public would not know this, therefore I think their racist claims come from a lack of knowledge / ignorance.

Bloody PC brigade will be the end of this world I tell you!! :D
 
Hmmm - while I agree with all of the above, I still think the chap was a plonker anyway

School shots are taken with a portable studio set-up all with predetermined distances, etc. nothing moves except the kids. It's all manual exp. anyway, and a tog of any experience at doing this would know the exp. changes per skin colour without needing to think about it

Given that each child will take a few seconds to approach the spot they are to sit/stand on (so you can see who's coming next), and a few more to practise their cheesy grin, isn't that more than enough time for a pro to dial in +1 -1 f-stops?

Try it yourself, how long does it take to do that?

So not racism no, but daft of the tog (and especially in this pc world) definitely
 
thank goodness they weren't black and white pictures eh?
 
DiddyDave said:
Hmmm - while I agree with all of the above, I still think the chap was a plonker anyway

School shots are taken with a portable studio set-up all with predetermined distances, etc. nothing moves except the kids. It's all manual exp. anyway, and a tog of any experience at doing this would know the exp. changes per skin colour without needing to think about it

Given that each child will take a few seconds to approach the spot they are to sit/stand on (so you can see who's coming next), and a few more to practise their cheesy grin, isn't that more than enough time for a pro to dial in +1 -1 f-stops?

Try it yourself, how long does it take to do that?

So not racism no, but daft of the tog (and especially in this pc world) definitely
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I don't photograph people so I wouldn't know but isn't it likely that for different skin tones it might be necessary not only to change exposure but also the position of the lighting?
 
Bad photographer I say ;) Saving time with settings, pish. Wedding photographers have to deal with black suits and white dresses in the same shot and can handle that. Be a man, get the photos done :p (Hopes he's not registered here) :D Pantoning a class isn't racist.
 
petemc said:
(Hopes he's not registered here)
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That thought calmed my response! :lol:

You might move the lighting for different shaped faces, but not colours of

That said, I once worked with a chap who did 440 schools a year by himself (I was there to assess the business to buy it!); his system could have been done by my 9 yr old - nothing, but nothing, changed between kids, schools, ages, eons even - and before you ask, no, not even the focussing!
 
i'm surprised he was even allowed to shoot children. doesnt that make him a paedophile as well as a racist? bloody immigrants! i bet he uses the internet too, the weirdo! Hang them all i say!!! I bet he's on drugs!!
 
Nelson said:
How is it possibly racism? He didn't discriminate between the children based on their skin tone.

People cry racism far too quickly these days. Usually white middle class people with an overactive sympathy gland.
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People cry almost anything out loud too quickly these days. Not sure if it's just middle class people, can be workers or rich people too.

I don't think this was racism in any way here. I presume he (she?) was shooting manual and though he might need to adjust shutter speed to better expose for darker / paler skin (where paler skin would abviously be more prone to getting overexposed).
 
Don't understand why he's changing the exposure to make every child's tend toward 18% grey. :shrug:

If you increase the exposure to compensate for a "darker" face then surely you're making them "lighter".... :thinking: (and vice-versa)!
 
xynamic said:
i'm surprised he was even allowed to shoot children. doesnt that make him a paedophile as well as a racist? bloody immigrants! i bet he uses the internet too, the weirdo! Hang them all i say!!! I bet he's on drugs!!
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Can't fault the voice of reason :lol::lol::lol:
 
chuckles said:
Don't understand why he's changing the exposure to make every child's tend toward 18% grey. :shrug:

If you increase the exposure to compensate for a "darker" face then surely you're making them "lighter".... :thinking: (and vice-versa)!
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If you're taking a shot of a landscape on a sunny/cloudy day, when the sun comes out or goes in you change the exp appropriately don't you?

Same when the light source stays the same but the subject changes tone
 
Glad to see the lesson in irony has been so well learned! {Couldn't find the Tongue in Cheek smiley}

I was alluding to the fact he/she (the tog) was working towards their own version of political correctness ..... make them all the same shade! Ah well..... :(
 
now, if he,d singled out the gingers. that would have been unforgivabubble.:)
westwood ,SO thinks hes black. someone please tell him. bloomin iritating pillock.
and if your a black lesbian single parent drug user , you can do owt you want cos no one dare criticise you.:|
 
DiddyDave said:
If you're taking a shot of a landscape on a sunny/cloudy day, when the sun comes out or goes in you change the exp appropriately don't you?

Same when the light source stays the same but the subject changes tone
Click to expand...

But the incident reading from his flash meter would be the same for each child...
 
spannerdude said:
I think what he did was appalling.

Some of those poor disadvantaged children desperately trying to look like Gangsta Rappers might not have even realised that they are white!

Just imagine how this thoughtless and discriminatory action might have traumatised someone like DJ Tim Westwood for example. Being singled out as NOT in fact from the hood but a grammar school kid from Suffolk...devastating!
Click to expand...


Post of the year award candidate RIGHT HERE!
 
Serves him right for doing school photos - that in itself is punishment enough...yuk!

It just highlights an ignorance of photographic techniques on the part of the Moaning Minnies...
All of us know that dark skinned complexions require an adjustment over lighter skins...
However, if he'd turned around and said "...because if I don't all you'll see are teeth and eyes..." then that would be racist...
 
I just came across another piece on this story that gives the impression it was a group shot being taken, the article's author made a request for anyone with a copy of the photo to send it in.

IF that's the case it's a whole different story than simply saving time with settings...
 
If its a matter of exluding them from a group shot then yes I would agree thats racist, I just assumed it was a matter of getting them done in a line type idea and sorting them into order so constant setting changes wernt needed.
 
I'm trying to find more info but the suggestion was that the pupils were split into two groups for the photo. I'm suspect (and hope) the author is wrong about this.
 
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