Pushing Boundaries: the human factor
Last week we went in the studio to exercise a little bit, and I wanted the session to be focussed on “Couples” and “Emotions”. I wanted to reproduce those shots I so much love on the street, but I underestimated the power of human relations. We had the luck to work with some great models (Miranda and Jacques in this photo), but the limit were not our models this time, the limits were set by me. I realize that directing some particular photos requires more than preparation, more than self confidence. It requires to push some psychological boundaries.
I did not reach exactly what I wanted in that session, not the level of interaction I was looking for, but it has been a very important lesson for me. The learning curve in photography is interesting and it is always new, especially when you work with models. The human factor is something that cannot be forgotten, as it is possibly the most powerful I have met since I have started to take photos. It does not matter if you are on the streets of your city trying to capture that moment that flies away in an heartbeat, or if you challenge the eye contact with a complete stranger you want a photo of, or if you are in a studio with models you have to direct: the human factor is the most powerful element in portrait photography!
Take a perfect photo of a non interesting person, or publish the perfectly exposed image of a model that does not trust the photographer, and you will never be able to reach the power of a badly exposed, composed and taken photo of a strong and real emotion!
In the studio I have struggled quite a while before being able to have the models’ trust. I have probably removed the first fifty photos, as I was able to feel the stiffness of the lack of trust, but then the models started to understand our directions and they started to relax. This is probably one of the first shots where Miranda let herself go.
I have some very interesting images, but the session we had has been much more than simple photos, it has been a psychology lesson!
No Comments Yet