It’s a question that has been in my mind for a very long time. Would Vivian Maiier have been shamed today for the work she did? Specifically, I’m speaking to all the photographs she made of children. For years, it was a stigma for photographers to do this, and generally speaking, they all stayed away from it. We talked about it a decade ago and concluded that it really is based on intent. And, of course, we’re not talking about the way that Anna Neubauer photographs children where there is a setup portrait shoot. Instead, this has more to do with candid street-photography style images.
Please understand, I’ve sat on this article since March of 2024. Vivian Maier: Unseen Photographs has been exhibited and her book has been reviewed. And I’ve carefully contemplated her work.
If you look at the children in her images, they don’t at all seem uncomfortable with her using the camera around them. But then again, they’re children and might not know better. The concern has to do with people being predators and stalking children. There’s credible evidence that Vivian Maier didn’t do this, though. After all, she was a nanny for a living and loved the children she worked with. She never had a partner with whom she procreated to have kids of her own.
Aesthetically speaking, some of Vivian Maier’s images of children are weird. I don’t understand why someone would make them, but I also don’t have to, as these images were made for her first and foremost.
If Vivian were around today, and her images were put into a group gallery showing or something like that, I don’t know how many photographers would care.
I did some research in nannies who are photographers, and Vivian Maier is really the only one who came up. Slate and West Side Rag did an article on Ellen Jacob who has photographed nannies and the children they’re with. But it doesn’t seem like many nannies photograph the kids that they care for.
So, would Vivian Maier have been shamed today? I believe that if she took the right and very careful steps, she wouldn’t have. For her, street photography should lead the way to being celebrated for how incredible it is. After a few gallery exhibitions and books, I think she could release a book of her photographs of children. If Vivian made it with the framing that she was doing this with the approach of a street photographer to show that photographing children is all about intent, I truly believe her work would’ve been enjoyed by the masses. In fact, she would’ve empowered other nannies to pick up the camera and document what’s around them.
Photographing children is often stigmatized. Even so, I think that Maier would’ve needed the parents’ permission to do this. She would’ve had to show the parents the books that she’s made and also make them aware of the galleries that she has been in. Of course, the parents would’ve needed to understand the arts or be supportive of the work she’s trying to do. That, of course, takes relationship building. And that’s where Vivian might’ve faltered — she was very shy and private. Indeed, a lot of spreading the word about your photographs and progressing in your career involves people work.
Just the other night, I was in a circle of photographers. Of the four of us, I was the only extrovert, while the others needed to recharge. If working with people and expressing yourself is draining, this could’ve been a hindrance.
You might be wondering why this matters. Well, I think it’s so important to discuss because of how justifiably silly the stigma of not photographing children is. It’s a good practice to ask for permission or not photograph them at all lest you get in trouble, but children are ultimately our purest selves.
As long as we, as photographers, have good intent and take extra measures to holistically inform those around us about what we’re trying to do, I think we’ll be in a good place.