We wandered down the road at the Bar U Ranch and came upon the cookhouse. It was there that we met Pat. He had the most charming smile but something was amiss. There was an awkwardness about his presence in the kitchen as he served us cookies and stoked the wood burning stove to boil the kettle for a cup of tea. Turns out Pat is not a regular in the cookhouse; he was just filling in for the day. He is also a relatively new employee of Parks Canada having only worked there for two months. He confessed to us that he was still getting used to having his photograph taken by every visitor and I joked that in no time, he would be as comfortable as Louis. That made him laugh.
When I am out photographing with other photographers I am always curious how they see the world and in this post I wanted to include an image by my friend Joshka. We had returned to the Bar U Ranch at the end of the day after a lunch break in Longview and we found Pat at the stables. Josh was able to create the image of Pat below by shooting through the fence. In my opinion, this is a better portrait of Pat. He is in his element–outside in the sun with his horse.
© Joshka Nel
As much as I am enjoying learning to photograph people, there are parts I find challenging. Approaching people is usually my first hurdle. What about you? If you are not a people photographer, what do you find challenging? If you are, what are some of your tips in approaching people and connecting with them so that you can make a better portrait?
Sabrina-I find photographing people in my own home, San Francisco, to be more challenging than when in other countries. I don’t know if it is a perceived difference or not, but it is harder for me to approach people here than in, say, Africa or Italy. I am slowly getting better at it though.
I have been using guilt/regret for motivation when approaching people in that I really don’t want to come home thinking about that shot that I may have missed or could have had.
I can really relate to what you say, Jeff. The other week I missed a great opportunity to photograph a Coca Cola girl on Robson Street because I was too afraid to approach her. I am still thinking about that image!
Good for you for persevering. I look forward to seeing more portraits on your blog
It’s hard approaching people, especially for an introvert like me, but as with anything else with practice it gets easier. The best tip I ever got was from watching a Jay Maisel video where he said he connected with people by being polite and honestly expressing why he wanted to photograph them. For example, “I’d like to take a photo of you because this light makes your eyes come alive” or “I love the look of your hair and face with that brightly colored hat.” No BS…just honesty about why you would like to photograph them. Learning to take those moments of rejection in stride is the hard part.
I remember that part of the Jay Maisel video, Earl. I had forgotten it while I was there! Thanks for the reminder.
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First of all the kitchen image is totally Awesome! the black and white processing and your composition just grab me.
I agree approaching people is a major hurtle for me. I feel I’m able to approach people although uncomfortably (probably because my DNA is an introvert.) I’ve found it very uncomfortable in dealing with individuals who do not want images taken and ask me not to. And,, Earl is right, practice and repetition will help in feeling comfortable and relaxed. If we are not relaxed and comfortable then how can we expect our subjects to feel comfortable in front of our lens?
Hi there Sabrina, if it’s any help I find it really useful to think of it in terms of not doing something for yourself. In other words you don’t want to photograph a certain person just for your own photographic benefit. You actually want to do it because you’re trying to honour the subject of your portrait. In other words you’re giving them the gift of creating a nice portrait of them.
We tend to think in terms of taking things away from people all the time. We ‘take’ their portrait, when in actual fact we’re giving them their portrait. And in return they are giving us the gift of their time and permission. So if you think of it as a symbiotic sharing of goodwill and respect then that kind of changes your mindset and makes it easier to approach people.
Just think about it as your way of giving gifts to random people and it makes it a lot easier.
It’s funny Paul, in my writing I am very cognizant of the language I use and for a while now I have refrained from saying that I “took” someone’s photogragh. Your comment is an AHA moment for me in that I need to extend that thinking to when I am making the image itself. What a wonderful way to think that these are a gift to people–thanks for this wisdom.
Photographing people? I just avoid it entirely; too scary.
lol… I think Chris and I have a lot in common
I love the top image here too, Sabrina. Makes me want to sit right down and have some of that pie!!
And I think Earl has triggered the need to watch the Jay Maisel video one more time…