What is your take on the Miles Ambridge Class Photo controversy?

This situation was very interesting to me. It is very hard to judge this as we weren't there and at that point didn't really know the nature of Miles' disability, the limitations the school placed on the photographer or if anyone even asked could this be done differently. If I had been the shooter I would have asked if there was a way to get Miles onto the bench with the rest of his class, even if it meant including his caregiver at that time. The school may have nixed this due to liability issues - touching of students, particularly those with special needs, is a legal mine field. If I could not have put Miles in with his class I would have slid the kids down the bench and moved the wheelchair to the right edge of the bench and just allowed the other side of the bench to stick out. If possible, I would have digitally removed the bench from the left edge, but personally I'd rather have the bench sticking out on one edge than a kid obviously set apart like that.

I'm glad they redid the shot, and frankly the second one is a better photo in all respects. Miles is included with his class and background is much more alive. The first one was painful on many levels, not just Miles being singled out and set aside like that.

@PT: your point is well taken if the photog was an untrained "no experience necessary" type mall photographer. Many of the people sent out to do this job aren't real photographers - they are someone who answered an ad and was trained to set the camera a certain way, put the lights at a specified place - they may not actually understand what happens when they shoot a picture, or they could have been a student, both just trying to earn a day's pay. The person may not have felt that they could question the set up. As a trained photographer however, I think I would have spoken up and I think you (and a few others in here as well) would have too.

I doubt that the photographer had any say in the matter. Someone brought him in and parked the chair there and walked away. The photographer probably didn't know any better. Maybe it would have been offensive to Miles if someone who didn't know him or anything about him suggested moving out of the chair. The people that know him could have or should have said something.

The sad thing is that now the picture will appear a million times with some tear-jerking caption about how the child was ostracized for his disability. The true nature of his problem will get lost, too, because people will just make up stories to suit their cause.

Well if you look, he is situated immediately after the end of the bleachers that the other students are sitting on in the first photograph. He is as close to the other students as the photographer could get him, but it definitely looks like he is purposely being separated from the rest of the group. Perhaps the photographer didn't know that he could get up from his wheelchair and sit with the rest of the students? I don't know, but I don't think it was in any way intentional by the photographer. No photographer that would discriminate against disabled children would have a sustainable business.

An old children's story comes to my mind, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

One man's porridge was too hot for someone else to swallow, so blame the cook.

Probably why I never photograph people. Some aborigines believe photos capture the soul (spirit), I think just the opposite, the photo of a person may not capture the correct spirit and there it is all bound up for the whole world to see. And instantly nowadays.

Eff me man. How many people who whined about his rights as a differently-abeled person was texting a friend about the "loud Negroes with the gigantic butts" on the bus while they were feeling so indignant?

If the parents really really really made a good case I suppose I would have fixed it too for the sake of PR but I do not think this is a national tragedy the way everything on the news is portrayed.

I surely locate it offensive yet greater stupid and immature than the rest. it fairly is Spain's history in this area that makes it worse. it is not an remoted incident and that i think of that's what would desire to be addressed. i've got examine articles from the two perspectives yet I nevertheless don't get it, what exciting is there in joking around with one's race/ethnicity or facial beneficial factors. ignore approximately human beings finding it offensive yet what excitement do you get out of it? that must be addressed. The Olympics is in regards to the international coming mutually to have fun the perfect athletes all over the realm and pulling stunts like this basically divide us.