I like to bring a sense of play and adventure to my shoots. I give my models a basic outline of what I’m considering shooting but I stress that my shooting is personality based. I think I’m good at that and that’s why I can occasional get that perfectly spontaneous look and feel to my shoots. Working with a nude the first time is such a grab bag of possibilities. I like for my models to feel free to experiment with different looks and emotions. It’s important to me that they feel comfortable and safe to just down right play and get silly if they want. Like I say, my photography is so keenly aware of the models personality and her moods. I like that. Some people disagree and want there models as props in the shoot. I think it depends on the personality of the photographer and where his or her mind is at.
I also don’t mind too much when my model is running late and that’s a big change for me. I used to get really upset with models for being late as I didn’t figure it showed the proper respect for me or the shoot. Since my stroke I’ve become more aware of how much I depend on them to share their time with me that I’m easy now. My friend Rachel was pretty late for our shoot, she did call and tell me that she and her boyfriend were hanging a door and that she would be late but she’d be there. So I patiently waited for her and played on the computer for awhile until she came. I kept in my mind that she wasn’t getting paid for the shoot she was interested enough to volunteer her time and interest. True I had wine and some food for her after and a percentage of any sales. But there was nothing of a monetary reward for her for giving up her afternoon.
So you have to be reasonable about things, people get busy and people have there lives to live and I’m just a small part of that life. I think back to the New York phase of my life and how I was. I was always rushing about trying to get things done in as efficient a manner as possible. I guess I got caught up in the rat race that is part and parcel of living in the city. But once the girl got there I was calm and relaxed and a pleasure to work with. I mean here I was in the big city in a gorgeous studio with a live girl posing for me. It was the realization of a dream, my dream and I had all the tool necessary for me to do a competent job. The knowledge too, I had the knowledge to realize what I was doing with my lights and reflectors and my black card sto sculpture my light. It was everything I had dreamed about, how far I’ve come now from those times.
I work by natural light now with the help of reflectors and my trusty light meter. I’ve stripped away all of the hardware now and it’s like flying by the seat of my pants. The look has changed or rather evolved to a different me now. Less complex and more accommodating to time and circumstance. Though I don’t make the money I’m use to I’m happier now building a new career for me. One day I expect to get back to an easier time of it but for now I’m so content and you can’t buy that contentment.
4 comments:
That's a beautiful portrait!
You're so right. We spend so much time rushing around chasing our own tails, that there's no time to really "live." Sometimes it takes a life-changing event to make someone sit up and ralise that things have to change, and it takes a major wake-up call to realuse you have to live life at a slower pace.
So interesting to hear your story from the photographer's point of view. I was that live girl whose dream it was to pose for a prestigious photographer. My first shoot ever was for someone who worked for Playboy and Penthouse.
That was just over five years ago. I can only imagine the change you see in your work, as I have seen immense growth in mine in a relatively short time.
Lin I think we are such imperfect people that it take something major to wake us up to the realities of life. Age too has a way of sneaking up and giving us it own reality lesson but by then we forget what we’ve learned. I’m kind of grateful to my stroke for reminding me what I had to lose while I had a chance to save it and slow down to enjoy it. I’m savoring all my shoots now Dr. L and drawing on all my knowledge as I go forward and explore my new horizons. I’m extremely excited with my work and some new treatments I’m giving my images. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but you never know what the damn dog is thinking about what you’re trying to teach him!
As much as we wish we didn't have to face our adversities, they do give us an opportunity to change ourselves and/or our directions. It reminds me of the Flannery O'Connor short story, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find." In it, a serial killer called the Misfit holds an old woman at gun point and has a long conversation with her before he pulls the trigger.
The epiphany comes when the Misfit shoots her and says, "She would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."
Adversity surmounted tells us to live every minute as though it's our last.
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