World’s Best Father
Dave Engledow
USA
«World’s Best Father» by Dave Engledow is creating probably the wackiest scrapbook ever showing himself and his daughter Alice Bee in highly precarious situations.
The first picture of him holding Alice Bee like a football and pouring her milk into his coffee was never intended to turn into a series, but the fans on the Internet demanded otherwise after seeing it. The key item in the shot became the “World’s Best Father” mug, bought just last minute before taking the picture. Later the same mug was featured in nearly every shot and gave the name to the series.
His ultimate wish, however, is for his daughter to have something to treasure as years go by.
In 2018 Dave Engledow brings his vibrant photography to a picture book that’s all about why it’s okay to take your time just being a kid.
Biography
Hard to believe it’s been seven and a half years since we took this shot. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this image would inspire our family to make over 150 more World’s Best Father images and to publish three books of our photography. But out of all the scenes we’ve shot, this one remains my favorite. Unlike most of the work that would follow, this image is not a composite—it’s a single shot without any manipulation beyond retouching and color and levels adjustment. I love Alice’s expression and how focused she is on figuring out how to get the milk. For those of you who know Alice today, I’m sure you’ll recognize that she still possesses that same level of dogged determination when she gets her mind set on something she wants.