Tres Compadres
Mayalan Village, Guatemala
Olympus OM, Fujichrome 100D
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As I wrote in Wednesday's post, I have always been drawn to the old, the abandoned, the worn out, the passing away. Abandoned buildings, abandoned cars – whatever man has used, worn out, and discarded -- fascinate me, because they speak of worn out lives, lived and discarded with neither name nor history.
However, there also has been
another constant through all the years I've been doing photography: making
pictures of people. Portraits, if you will. I've made studio portraits,
editorial portraits, corporate portraits, portraits of family and friends, casual
portraits, portraits for money, and portraits for fun.
I also have made many, many informal
portraits of people in foreign settings, both of individuals and people
together; work I found especially satisfying. As I wrote in "The
Fascination of Foreign Faces," As a
photojournalist and producer creating magazine features and audio-visual
programs to help religious and humanitarian agencies communicate their mission,
I'm always looking for opportunities to make portraits. Strong photographs of people add power to the
message I want to communicate, because people are interested in people. That's why we call it "human
interest." When someone from
another culture is portrayed in all of his or her humanity, dignity, and
individuality, both the subject and those who view the photograph are
served. As the great Edward Steichen,
creator of the landmark "Family of Man" exhibit said, "The
function of photography is to explain man to man and each man to himself."
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Old Peasant Woman
Church of God, Vinkovci,
Yugoslavia
Olympus OM or Leica M3, Fujichrome 400D @ ISO 800
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Making informal portraits is not
difficult. In fact, anyone can do it -- witness the hordes snapping away with
their cell phones. Making good
portraits, portraits that will interest even those who do not know the
subjects, is a little more complex, but not prohibitively so. They are not
beyond the reach of any photographer with a reasonably good eye for
composition, some ability to notice the play of light, and the will to put
oneself out there and just do it!
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Salvadoran Child
La Colonia Gloria
Methodist Church,
Ahuachapan, El Salvador
Olympus OM-D
E-M5, Panasonic Lumix 14-140 f3.5-f5.6 lens
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A friendly, open demeanor and an
attitude of respect and courtesy will usually gain the subject's cooperation.
If not, just offer a polite "Thank you" and walk away. But again, the
most important factor in making good informal portraits is simply the will to
do it. These simple principles have worked for me around the U.S. and around
the world.
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