It has been said that when you look at someone you can see inside their soul; be how true is this? How much can we really find out by simply looking at someone? Part of the beauty of photography is that what you see is what you get. If you are looking at real, raw, tangible copies of photos of people, and places and things how much are you really able to tell about a person based on what you are seeing? Although we live in a society that can photo shop virtually anything, real and raw photography still exists, which in turn illustrates people un-altered; their real and vulnerable selves.
When it comes to photography there are different types of reactions that you are able to get from the subject you are photographing. I am only going to focus on two different reactions. When you photograph someone your goal is to create some sort of a relationship with them in order to make them feel comfortable in the environment that you have set up to take photos of them. When you make your client feel comfortable and if you bring them into an inviting atmosphere you are bound to capture shots that really capture their personality.
One type of photo is staged. For example, you bring someone into the studio because they want pictures done for a family portrait. Everyone in the family is going to be dressed to the nines right? On the way to the studio mom and dad tell little Mikey, if he is really good and if he smiles big for all of the photos, and acts a certain way, they will take him to get ice cream later and buy him that special toy that he wants. Mikey is going to act a certain way at the studio to please his parents. What the photographer is going to capture is not going to be his real personality! Although a lot of parents probable like this type of photography when it comes to their kids and family portraits, they do not understand that the essence of that person, and their personality is not being captured. Although they may hold in their hands a tangible copy of a portrait, the personality of those in the portrait are way off and completely staged. This does not just strictly happen with family portraits, but any type of portrait. If someone goes into a photo shoot with a plan on how they are going to smile, how they are going to place their chin, and how high they may raise their eyebrows, there is nothing real about that photo.
Real photos happen when people are raw and comfortable in the photo environment they are placed in. When the photographer is able to build a relationship, talk to the client, and really create a personal connection, that is when photography becomes real again and portraits are an accurate reading to a person's personality. The more comfortable you make the person you are photographing...the more real they become...the closure you are to seeing into their soul through the picture...as some people believe.
I found an iconic photo of Janis Joplin from a website called webdesignerdepot.com. The photo is so amazing because it is a black and white photo of her, but the picture just completely captures the essence of her personality and it is so evidently illustrated that she and her photographer had a strong connection and relationship because he was able to get her to show her personality in this picture. The picture shows her laughing and pointing, and it is very clear that this is not staged, but that she was laughing at someone who was in the studio with her, and the photographer was able to capture that split second of realness that she showed. When you are able to read about someone simply by looking at a picture that they are in, it is so powerful.
I was doing a photoshoot of a friend of mine, named Amber. Amber has done pageants for about 6 years, and since she is "retiring" her crown, and pageants she wanted to get pictures done in her favorite pageant dress for her mom. This photoshoot was definitely staged in that we knew where we were going, she knew what she was going to wear, and how to smile. Even though this was the case I was able to capture a moment in which she completely let her guard down, and was able to be real for a split second. Although this picture is not the same set up or type of portrait as Janis Joplin's, it clearly illustrates how you can capture someones real and raw personality in a split second if you are able to build a connection with them.
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