honesty

I'm used to the way my camera feels. I don't think about the buttons or dials. It sits more as an extension of my hands and my eye, and it feels natural. But sometimes I think about how un-natural it must feel to my clients. Me (a stranger) pointing a big microscope at them, hoping they'll trust me enough to show me something real. It's asking a lot, and I try to remember that. Even though, it's far from being a formula for success. There are so many variables that go into that delicate dance of getting to know someone on a shoot: newborns peeing on laps, fathers who want to be somewhere else, exhausted pregnant mommies, weather that doesn't cooperate. You never know what you're going to get. But no matter how different each photo session looks or feels, there's only one thing I'm ever looking for. Honesty. Saying cheese is easy. Expected. And sometimes it's necessary to go through the motions to get to the good stuff. But the cheese is never interesting. Not in a conversation, and not in a photograph. It's always a form of honesty that inspires me. We find ourselves in each other, and that makes us feel connected. I think the most important tool that a photographer has, is his or her ability to be vulnerable first. We must be willing to show our selves, before we can expect others to reveal their true moments to us.

Comments

[mika]

i appreciate this post so much... having been on my first couple of shoots for my photo class...and photographing people who aren't strangers... i know that the awkwardness can get to be unbearable if i, as the photographer, can't get past the awkwardness and help create some sort of environment that's comfortable. i know it will be even harder once i start shooting strangers! it's inspiring to hear how other, more accomplished and experienced photographers handle these situations... i'm learning a lot from reading the experiences and posts of others... and it's been so valuable to me. thank you for this post... i truly appreciate your words :)

my efforts to make things fun... http://www.flickr.com/photos/msquid/2494356732/
and my efforts to keep things real... http://www.flickr.com/photos/msquid/2494360838/

[laura - dolcepics]

I love the pure emotion in your shot!

This post has really struck a chord. I've done a couple shoots for friends and family before and I felt so awkward trying to direct them. I think they felt awkward getting their picture taken purposefully. After reading your post, I realized that yeah, I'm not too comfortable in front of the camera either! I have only a handful of pictures of me and most of them I abhor. So, in the spirit of revealing my vulnerabilities, here's one rare shot of me.

http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/me/

[Marcie]

Your words ring so true...and I love this image. It's so 'real'..so 'honest'...such straight-forward happy emotion. Of late - I haven't had a lot of opportunity to photograph people..but here's one that expresses 'relationship' and 'emotion' in the animal world:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=435

[e.darcy]

If I'm nervous and lacking confidence-I've found that my subjects are as well... So I try to laugh, loosen up, really be apart of the scene rather than just hiding behind the camera.

My favourite shots are the ones that I captured-and later on, the client lets you know that they didn't even know that you were taking their picture at the time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2378736630/in/set-72157604332569878/

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

Back in the old days of film, I was able to capture a shot of the most adorable French-Canadian girl while I lounged on the deck at a hostel I stayed at. The language barrier didn't stop us from making a connection, and this photo I took of her has remained one of my most favorite portraits from the past.

http://wayfaring-wanderer.blogspot.com/search/label/Portrait

[Leslie]

Some of the best shots of my teens happen when they're being silly or teasing each other.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/westieluvr/2314903848/in/set-72157604059642595/

[lora]

this a fabulous couple whose engagement and wedding i had the privilege of photographing. they never seize to give me a little "real" action in the midst of their natural beauty and passion. =)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28987938@N00/2243379010/in/set-72157603854294147/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28987938@N00/2242128377/in/set-72157603854294147/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28987938@N00/2552153115/in/set-72157605449847493/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28987938@N00/2553314795/in/set-72157605449847493/

[Kacey]

I love the emotion you captured with that photo! It's great.

This is one of my favorite photos of my husband and one of our sons. Captured at a tailgate party at Texas Tech. You can tell they were having so much fun. I love the angle on it too...I was sitting down low on a lawn chair. I like capturing photos at a "not normal" angle. (second photo in this post)

http://www.wineonthekeyboard.com/2008/06/15/not-my-father/

[Stephanie]

This post really hit home. I really struggle with being vulnerable in my blog...especially when it makes me seem like I am talking about something sad. It's funny that you posted this today because last night I typed and deleted my blog post 3 times in order to hide that vulnerability. Thanks for teaching me a wonderful lesson today:
http://slsmithphotgraphy.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/06/being-honest-ou.html

[Angie]

Although I'm not even close to a pro, I can understand. My sister really wanted a family photo with her husband but he HATES taking pics. So, as we dragged him to this little shoot, I told him "What would you do if the Saints won the Superbowl?" and I got this great smile. He never smiles!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thethiers/2253654823/

Which loosened him up enough to get this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thethiers/2253654449/

It's honest, real, and made his wife soooo happy. Great post, thanks for the lesson!!

[mel]

This is an aspect of being a photographer that I had not anticipated. I knew you had to have an artistic eye, a feel for composition and mood and lighting, some grasp of the technicalities... but I didn't know what to do to put my subjects at ease the first time I shot a session. (Maybe Shutter Sisters could do a few posts on this subject!)

Even with my best friend, getting her relaxed with a camera trained on her and giving direction was a challenge. I love these two from near the end of the session that finally got down to expressing who she really is...

http://flickr.com/photos/21106607@N05/2610940454/?editreplace=1
http://flickr.com/photos/21106607@N05/2610955094/?editreplace=1

[Michelle]

Everything about my camera is so new to me. It's beginning to feel comfortable in my hand, but there's so much I don't know yet. The kids don't pick up on this, but my sister did. I took a series of shots of her because she was all fancied-up, ready to leave for a romantic night with her husband. She needed direction and I didn't really know how to give it, so we started getting goofy and this is my favorite shot. She doesn't love it - she worries about her teeth and her wrinkles, but I look at it and see her happy and she's beautiful.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26029966@N02/2610207061/

[mnkathy]

I love this photo of my daughter, taken by Daddy, because it's so incredibly, completely her. He captured her essence in this photo, right before bedtime. If it's not the most honest depiction of My Girl, I will eat my shoe...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25773211@N07/2611085100/

[Lawyer Mama]

That's so true. The best shots come from those unguarded moments.

http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2383671677/in/photostream/

[Rachel Parton]

http://partonpics.blogspot.com/2008/06/beauty.html

[Jesi]

I am not a professional in the least, but I do LOVE taking photos of my family and the best are always the one's captured when they least expect it!!

Maile actually took belly shots of my husband and I last October and I have been addicted to her blog and photos ever since :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26187923@N03/2611734784/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26187923@N03/2610899165/

[Melissa Jill :)]

Great words Maile.

[Maya]

As I start my new business I realize this is way I want to do this...to capture the honesty and realness of a person. Such great words Maile!

[littlepurplecow]

This is a great capture, Maile. I've been shooting people in their honest state more and more lately and enjoying it so much. This is a recent shot of a special woman I took a few days ago. Yes, I have a few images of her with a predictable smile, but this one seems to really share a bit of her soul:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/littlepurplecow/2609751088/

[Kirsten]

I second the idea for the shutter sisters to do a blog about relaxing your subject! This is wat happens when you don't.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/somethingcheeky/2603503352/sizes/m/in/set-72157605762587558/

[tz]

You are the BOMB!

[intensity_too]

Catching people when they are most relaxed in front of the camera creates some amazing picture . . . so does snapping that picture when they aren't aware of it.

An accidently snap of the camera caught my 4 year old at his best:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/intensity_too/2461406524/in/set-72157604859010023/