Monday, November 12, 2007

two and three.

Today's lack, I think, the drama of the first one. When I told one set of subjects that they didn't have to smile, the mom asked if I was trying to make them seem somber.

I said no. And it's true. I'm not aiming for somber. I'm just trying to get to something deeper than simply smiling for the camera. And, I thought to myself, in the quest to get there I needed to remember not to make my subjects into something else just because that's the picture I want. It's not about me. It's about the subjects. And on this day, the subjects smiled.

Some people's faces can't help but express pride in their work, in their family, in the things that they have accomplished and the life that they have lived.

And some people are just happy to be having their picture taken.


1 comment:

Mark Mulligan said...

Really excellently done. Excellently ... not sure if that's a word, but you're rocking it. Good words of wisdom too. Seriously, it is about them, not about you, BUT, it is about you when it comes to the HOW, so yeah, either way, you're doing great just being sensitive to that concern.

Great post on Magnum blog about Alex Soth and his work in Columbia - all about the why and the how and the who:
http://blog.magnumphotos.com/2007/11/interview_alec_soth_on_dog_days_bogota.html