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September 15, 1998 Photography is an interesting medium because the more random and "messy" a photo appears, the more effective it can be. It seems more real if there is some dirt in the image. Some photographers, especially photojournalists, feel the only way to achieve spontaneity and candidness in photos is to hide from the subject, have no involvement with the subject and become the "fly on the wall." These photographers don’t want to use lighting or portrait techniques because the photos are never "real" moments. I have seen, however, marvelous moments in photos that are from very controlled situations. Harry Benson, a noted photographer who works for LIFE, is one shooter I admire and who has this talent. He is an experienced news photographer who also does celebrity portraits. He has the ability to make composed, calculated photos from uncontrolled situations while also being able to capture unexpected moments in controlled situations. That is talent. One of the most controlled photography situations involving people is a fashion shoot. The models are chosen and hired for their looks. The clothes are selected for their style and impact and the locations are scouted in advance. At the shoot, we have a stylist who works for hours on hair and makeup. Teenaged girls who wear a size 2 look like alluring women. So much for reality. But there is the opportunity to make photos that have a unpredictable essence. Last week, I was working on our fall fashion project. We were shooting at a new shopping complex in the heart of the tourist region and I was trying to get photos that looked like caught moments; ones that you might see if you were people-watching while sitting on a bench. The trick is to work closely with the models so that they can forget that they are wearing four times as much makeup as they normally do and that they are wearing heavy sweaters in 85 degree heat. We hired two models - Bob and Lina (lee - nuh) - to portray a young couple. Both are at the start of their modeling careers. Bob is 27 and Lina is 17. We shot ten different scenes over the course of 2 days and used more than 30 rolls of film. I shot color high-speed negative film which allows me to work in low light situations without adding strobe lights. It was a compromise I could take because the clothes this season are mostly gray and I wouldn’t need the extra color quality that color slide film would offer. By the end of the last day, we had made a lot of good photos. Bob and Lina seemed to understand the freedom I was giving them by not asking them to hit model poses. We had a cover shot already and were ready to shoot the last outfits. She’s be wearing a long, gray evening dress and he’d be in a black shirt and gray slacks. We had planned to shoot outside just after sunset, using a walkway where tiny white lights are wrapped around the palm trees. It would be very pretty - if it wasn’t raining, which it was. Weather in Florida is spontaneous and we had to be flexible. I suggested we use a vintage-styled diner instead which was a location we hadn’t even scouted. The white tile floors and counters worked well with the outfits and the chrome and red vinyl counter stools would be a nice touch of texture.
Many commercial photographers have problems giving up total control in order to get photos like these. Many photojournalists have problems taking any control over posing and influencing the scene - sometimes because of ethical or stylistic concerns or because they have little experience in these situations. For me, fashion is a good shoot because I can use my experience and people skills to let the models be more "real." I can also practice composition and lighting techniques I can then use quickly in more uncontrolled, fluid situations. September 15, 1998 Tom Burton
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Tom
Burton
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Contributor
since 1998
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Behind
the Viewfinder - A Year in the Life of Photojournalism |
