Ender100@aol.com
Date: 01/01/03-07:45:45 PM Z
Shannon,
Sam Wang showed me how he has a chair with a seat that is hooked to a water
hose... just as you take the shot, you turn on the cold water... you get this
great look of surprise from people...
Some of the things I have done:
1. Ask the person to bring one item that means a lot to them to hold during
the portrait and maybe have them tell you about it as you shoot.
2. Ask the person to tell you about some important event, place, person,
experience in their life.
3. Photograph the person in their "place" doing something they like to do.
4. Ask the person to help you to take a photograph of something.
Something they can hold in their hands. IT could be a flower or a book or
anything that you find interesting. This works great with kids.
5. Tell the person you are going to take some test shots and to relax while
you are setting the camera up and testing it.
6. Have the person look away from the camera and then turn towards the
camera slowly while opening their eyes.
7. Have the person do some simple stretching exercises. One for the face
that I use is have them open their mouth really wide like they are
screaming... then, of course, close it before you shoot. This really
relaxes the facial muscles. Of course, some of the people I photograph
really are screaming...
8. Have the person close their eyes and give them an orange peel to smell.
9. Have the person bring music that they like to play during the shoot.
10. Ask the person how they envision themselves in an image.
11. Ask the person who they are becoming and how they would show that in an
image.
12. Give the person a fifth of whiskey and a shot glass while you set up
your camera.
13. Have the person turn away from the camera then rapidly turn their head
towards the camera... shoot a split second later. If they don't suffer
whiplash, you might get a great shot... also makes the hair look nice
sometimes.
14. Let them take your photograph first.
15. Tell the person that the camera will truly capture their soul and that
you plan to keep it in a little brown stoppered bottle next to your favorite
Pt/Pd mix until they pay you your fee.
16. Put an eye chart over your shoulder and ask them to read the bottom 5
lines while you shoot.
Actually I don't like people to try to smile during a portrait. Sometimes I
use guided imagery to take a person along to get the expression I want.
Recently a lady asked me to do a nude portrait of/for her. (she nude/me
clothed) She had the most furrowed brow I have ever seen in my life—at first
I thought my camera was upside down. I had to use different lighting to try
to make it less prominent. Eventually I just did a forehead massage very
lightly like the massage therapists do and that helped a lot. At least she
felt better. Anyway, I picked up that her mom had always harped at her
about the furrowed brow, so I suggested to her while doing the forehead
massage that perhaps she should think of that as just being part of her and
that it was something that gave her a distinguishing characteristic. That
seemed to make her relax more and the brow was a bit less furrowed.
I had contacted Judy S. about this and she had suggested I use heavy rope and
tie the lady to an ironing board. That seemed to make the furrow deeper.
An odd twist on this is to think of yourself as documenting the person having
their portrait taken. I know that sounds silly. But it is something I am e
xploring a lot lately with portraits and figurative work. Maybe that is my
New Year's Resolution. I'm sure it has already been done before.
Mark Nelson
PS: I always enjoy your posts, they are very creative and about creative
things. Just remember though, in this cold weather, never pee on a
pumphandle....
In a message dated 1/1/03 6:25:28 PM, shannonstoney@earthlink.net writes:
> My New Year's resolution is to make better portraits. I was inspired by
> the Thomas Struth show last summer. I read somewhere that he simply asks
> his subjects to relax and look into the lens. I tried that today, but I
> haven't processed the negatives yet, so I don't know if it worked. (My
> partner also made many digital camera portraits of Sponge Bob Square Pants,
> in the form of a lollipop which was in my stocking.) Any other suggestions
> for helping people to relax and open up in front of a rather large camera?
>
> --shannon
>
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