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Archive 2015 · Question for the day....

  
 
AuntiPode
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Question for the day....


What do you bring to making an image?

http://petapixel.com/2015/11/04/6-photographers-asked-to-shoot-portraits-of-1-man-with-a-twist/



Nov 04, 2015 at 03:26 PM
lighthound
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Question for the day....


Now THAT was cool. 6 different shots illustrating how we control "the story" and/or "deliver our message" with no words spoken.

Nice find Karen and thanks for sharing this here!

Dave



Nov 04, 2015 at 05:03 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Question for the day....


Nice find Karen.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, six pictures are worth ...

I've long believed that we are creators of non-verbal communication (i.e. messages). While poets, authors and songwriters use words to convey where imagery does not exist (i.e. they paint a picture with words), we use imagery to convey where words do not exist ... both verbal & non-verbal mediums aspiring for excellence in the conveyance of the message. Those six pictures probably illustrate this better than I could do with six million words ... which, I probably have already passed by now.

Where the verbal communicators have words and punctuation, etc. ... we have scale, mass, tonal values, hue, form, shape, light, shadow, framing, perspective, comp, etc. It's your message ... we can choose to be a mere taxi for a recording device ... or we can choose to be the author of finely crafted workmanship (and record it) in delivering our "voice" (i.e. message).

Shakespeare and Hemingway may have started with something as simple as Dick and Jane or Dr. Seuss ... but they didn't stay there. Likewise, we may start with taking simple snapshots, but neither are we constrained to remain there. It all starts in our mind ... and then we aspire to transcribe from our gray matter (get your head in the game) to the gray matter of others. That can be anything from "as seen" to "as felt" to "as desired".

Your message ... your call.





Nov 05, 2015 at 07:40 AM
dmacmillan
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Question for the day....


I'm unimpressed.


Nov 05, 2015 at 08:41 AM
RustyBug
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Question for the day....


dmacmillan wrote:
I'm unimpressed.


The represented concept Doug ... not the quality of those specific images themselves. Rather, the salient point that it all starts in your mind, as you wield your tools to produce your conveyance.

I realize your roots probably find this to be rather "yawn" because you have been so well trained by those who knew, embraced and lived such things. But, for so many today ... they think it is about the camera, rather than your vision. Such, it bears repeating ... even if it is older than dirt "yawn" and those of us who are almost that old find it "old hat" that it should go without saying. I agree, it SHOULD go without saying, yet ... well, you get the gist.




Edited on Nov 05, 2015 at 09:18 AM · View previous versions



Nov 05, 2015 at 09:09 AM
eeneryma
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Question for the day....


A provocative video. It's at the heart of what portrait photographers do, and how they decide to portray and interpret. Thanks for posting.


Nov 05, 2015 at 09:16 AM
dmacmillan
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Question for the day....


RustyBug wrote:
The represented concept Doug ... not the quality of those specific images themselves. Rather, the salient point that it all starts in your mind, as you wield your tools to produce your conveyance.


I watched the video. I was unimpressed. It's typical art school BS, overwrought and overthought.



Nov 05, 2015 at 09:27 AM
RustyBug
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Question for the day....


dmacmillan wrote:
I watched the video. I was unimpressed. It's typical art school BS, overwrought and overthought.


Mabye so ... but, it still provides a launching point for a person to consider what the significance of their contribution to the process is. Somewhere between a P&S snapshot and the Mona Lisa is where most folks are. Imo, the difference isn't in the camera or the brush ... but the mind. The question is simply ... how much of our mind are we bringing to the process?

I find it to be a valid question (even if presented in a cheesy kinda way) ... just gotta look past the cheesy BS part.



Nov 05, 2015 at 09:47 AM
Camperjim
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Question for the day....


I am with dmacmillan on this one. The results just don't seem very impressive nor is the concept at all clear or proven. I think there is little doubt that the images from different photographers would still be very different without the need for any cover stories. The science here is bad with no controls for results with and without the initial character sketches. And how were the final images selected? Because they happened to match character sketches? Anyway, bad science, that proves nothing.

As Karen stated, What do you bring to making an image? I think we do all know that photographers develop distinctive styles and interpretations. To me what is important is understanding the details. How do we go about controlling the process? Bringing moods, emotions and gestures into our photography? Telling the stories we intend? Is it just accident or do we shoot with intent? What does shooting with intent mean and how do we do it? I would really like to improve those aspects of my photography but I do not think this helped at all.



Nov 05, 2015 at 10:36 AM
RustyBug
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Question for the day....


Camperjim wrote:
What does shooting with intent mean and how do we do it?


I think that is kinda the point that was raised. Each photographer intended to represent the person as they had been led to believe of that person. Which further, was only something derived in their mind (albeit artificially implanted) that they then sought to convey.

Case in point ... you might have told me that the person was an alcoholic ... and in my mind, the message I wanted to convey was to present the person in a realm that did NOT convey them in any kind of negative / stereotypical alcoholic way. Thus, I may have derived in my mind for them to be picking flowers or juggling or in a business suit or doing push-ups, or whatever my mind may have associated otherwise as a deflection from the stereotypical imagery.

In that regard, my intended message may have been to hide the alcoholism rather than reveal it ... showing instead something of a different value ... to present that people have positive value (even as we all are imperfect). As such, it still came from my mind as to what my intent was for the direction of the conveyance .. to your point at mood, etc.



Nov 05, 2015 at 11:27 AM
dmacmillan
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Question for the day....


Camperjim wrote:
As Karen stated, What do you bring to making an image?

That's a good question.

To me, a good portraitist brings an open mind, a lively curiosity and an engaging personality. If you want to capture something of who they are, you have to earn their trust and make them feel comfortable. You have to have confidence in your abilities and need to not get distracted by the technical aspects of the capture.

You also have to bring powers of observation. I don't believe much in posing someone. Most folks have natural poses that they'll fall into once relaxed. My job is to recognize them, then suggest subtle tweaks to improve them (chin a little forward, turn the hand, etc.).

I'm not big into navel gazing or visual symbolism. I found the attempts to "interpret" the individual from the story they were given pretty clichéd and obvious (empty chair. Really?). It was a rushed, artificial situation that for me produced pretty artificial results.



Nov 05, 2015 at 11:39 AM
eeneryma
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Question for the day....


dmacmillan wrote:
That's a good question.

To me, a good portraitist brings an open mind, a lively curiosity and an engaging personality. If you want to capture something of who they are, you have to earn their trust and make them feel comfortable. You have to have confidence in your abilities and need to not get distracted by the technical aspects of the capture.

You also have to bring powers of observation. I don't believe much in posing someone. Most folks have natural poses that they'll fall into once relaxed. My job is to recognize them, then suggest subtle tweaks to improve them
...Show more

We can all agree that portraits are a collaboration between the photographer and the subject. For most portrait taking, your strategies are spot on.
However, celebrity portraits, a small part of the business, fall into a different category, where the photographer's influence on the outcome of the portrait plays a more important role. These photographers are being asked to interpret the subject. There are probably many examples, but what immediately comes to mind is the photo by Karsh of Winston Churchill where Karsh as a strategy told Churchill to put out his cigar. The quick shot of Churchill's mean and annoyed look revealed a lot about his personality.



Nov 05, 2015 at 12:43 PM
dmacmillan
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Question for the day....


eeneryma wrote:
We can all agree that portraits are a collaboration between the photographer and the subject. For most portrait taking, your strategies are spot on.
However, celebrity portraits, a small part of the business, fall into a different category, where the photographer's influence on the outcome of the portrait plays a more important role. These photographers are being asked to interpret the subject. There are probably many examples, but what immediately comes to mind is the photo by Karsh of Winston Churchill where Karsh as a strategy told Churchill to put out his cigar. The quick shot of Churchill's mean and annoyed
...Show more
Here is Karsh's description of the shoot:
http://petapixel.com/2013/03/08/in-his-iconic-portrait-winston-churchill-is-scowling-over-a-lost-cigar/

He didn't tell him to put it out, he took it out of his mouth! The article has another image from the same shoot, with Churchill smiling. Does it also reveal a lot about his personality? Which one is closer to the true Churchill? Which tends to reinforce our perception of him?

When I was in photo school in Los Angeles, I assisted Norman Seef, another celebrity photographer. He was interested in getting an eye catching image of his subjects and was very successful at it. From the shoots I worked, he didn't spend a lot of time plumbing the depths of his subject's psyche to get to their essence. ;-)

BTW, he'd shoot 20 or 30 rolls on a shoot. I'd develop the film and make contact sheets. From them, he'd select 10 or 15 images, which I'd print 16x20. That's what the art director saw, not the contact sheets.



Nov 05, 2015 at 01:30 PM
eeneryma
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Question for the day....


dmacmillan wrote:
Here is Karsh's description of the shoot:
http://petapixel.com/2013/03/08/in-his-iconic-portrait-winston-churchill-is-scowling-over-a-lost-cigar/

He didn't tell him to put it out, he took it out of his mouth! The article has another image from the same shoot, with Churchill smiling. Does it also reveal a lot about his personality? Which one is closer to the true Churchill? Which tends to reinforce our perception of him?

When I was in photo school in Los Angeles, I assisted Norman Seef, another celebrity photographer. He was interested in getting an eye catching image of his subjects and was very successful at it. From the shoots I worked, he didn't spend a
...Show more

Irregardless of who is making the final decision, someone is making an interpretation by choosing what photo to use. It could be the art director, or in collaboration with the photogarpher. It's still an interpretation, and if you've taken 500 shots, there's a wide range to choose from. Most of the time the photo chosen is based on what the powers to be think will sell the publication.

I agree with you that trying to photograph the "essence" of a person in one photo is an impossible pursuit as we human beings are complex and have many sides to our personalities. Therefore the smiling Winston and the frowning Winston, and perhaps many other Winstons. But the one most remembered is the frowning Winston that became a symbol of the English wartime resistance.



Nov 05, 2015 at 02:46 PM
jeromepphoto
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Question for the day....


What a pointless "experiment", particularly because the actor changed his behavior to match the caption. If you really wanted insight into a photographer's perspective, have them go solely by the caption and have the actor be himself.

“A photograph is shaped more by the person behind the camera than by what’s in front of it,” Canon says.

Well, duh.



Nov 05, 2015 at 04:02 PM
Camperjim
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Question for the day....


I think there is a bigger principle here that could apply to all types of photography not just portraiture. I rarely take portraits of people but I have an intense interaction with my more static subjects even landscape scenery. I am very motivated to have the images I make indicate what I want to express. I am not unique in that regard. I attend a lot of classes where we discuss and critique photos. Even in pretty large groups of 20 or 30 photographers after looking at only a few images from each photographer most of the time I can glance at a new photo and instantly identify the photographer with a high degree of reliability. This is done without analysis but I do wish I could better understand what we as individual photographers bring to making an image.


Nov 05, 2015 at 04:11 PM





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