If a 3-Year-Old Can Do It...

The story was covered in the San Francisco Chronicle back in March and recently made national TV.

While reading through these posts I noticed many of the comments were negative. A lot of photographers and so called ‘art lovers’ seem to have taken serious offense that a gallery would dedicate space to images taken by a three year old. People have dissed Ruby’s photography skills, and even suggested the parents are using their contacts to draw attention to their own work.

I think these people are missing the point. While I agree that the images aren’t creatively astounding or worthy of an exhibition in any ‘professional’ sense, I don’t think that’s what the parents, child or restaurant are trying to say.

To my mind the exhibition says more about the process of taking photographs than the photographs themselves. It shows just how accessible and simple photography can be. How it’s not about a particular brand of camera or expensive lenses, the subtleties of exposure or achieving the correct depth of field — but about exploration and curiosity.

Ruby’s photos may not be technically perfect or aesthetically mind-blowing, but by putting them on public display they help remind us of what photography fundamentally is: an individual record of our attempts to understand and view the world around us.

Community Connection

What do you think about Ruby’s photos?
Are these critics just jealous?
How does it change the way one’s work is perceived once it’s given an exhibition?

Please share your thoughts below.