Liz, one of many excellent artists at Western Avenue Studios, in Lowell, who works in ceramics asked me to photograph some of her work. I have been so impressed with the colors in which she works, and with the enthusiasm and energy with which she makes her creations, so I asked her if she would pose for a portrait session. As I always like to do, I photographed her in her environment, on location in her studio, surrounded by her work.
Art
Business Headshots vs. Business Fun Shots
Kim Saltmarsh
Often, when professional people come to me to have me create their portrait, they have a vision in mind of what they want me to do that can be somewhat rigid and I think, stifling to both parties. Obviously, some organizations and the roles that some people play in their professional lives dictate a certain style of portrait. That's not always true however, even though the individual may feel that it is.
I certainly do create traditional "head shots" for corporate executives and other professional people, but given the opportunity, I am more than happy to try to break the mold and create something more interesting. I blogged a while back ("Got Style") about several people who were more than willing to be interesting, and it showed in their photos.
Over the last year or so, I have been working on magazine articles with Kim Saltmarsh who, along with her writing jobs, is a morning radio voice at WCAP in Lowell, as well as a TV Pledge Anchor at WGBH-TV in Boston. So I suggested to her that, rather than do something expected, we do something more that would show her personality. I have done this with people from many professions too, not just media professionals, but I thought that exploring a dignified but fun approach would be worth doing in Kim's case. I think it works!
Got Style
I have just finished a couple of very intense weeks of shooting and am trying to collect my thoughts and analyze what parts of that work really 'worked' for me. What was it on a particular assignment that felt right, or didn't?
It's really about style. Do I have one? What is it like? I know that there are things that I want to show and say, and when I shoot, if I have those things in my mind and am successful in making photographs that bring those things to life, I am happy. I know that I have done something. I know that that's my style. It may not be my style a few years from now, nor was it my style a few years ago, but it is today. I need to have a connection to the idea and to the subject and the rest is making art.
That's why I love to work with subjects and clients who want me to create photographs for them that are in my style. It's simply a matter of creating the environment and working with the subject to make my ideas into reality. I'm happy, and when they see the results, they are happy. That's what it's about.
If you're being hired because you are a photographer, but the client is simply looking for a commodity shot, and not what floats your boat, take your life jacket! (sorry ;-) You may be a capable, competent professional, but if it's not the kind of work that you feel is your style, think twice. It will probably work out perfectly well! But will you be happy?
This is why we specialize. Right? You want your visibility to reflect where you want to go, not wherever you might have been, unless of course you've been on the right track for a while. I don't think Coca-Cola is inclined to show images of their famous mistake, "New Coke", in their marketing materials. Like most/all photographers, we have have several of those efforts somewhere on our hard drives, but they probably should stay there. Your style is you and you want people to want you to create for them what you do best. I like to create interesting, informal studio portraits in my small space in Lowell, but I also really enjoy location portraits, which anyone who does this kind of shooting knows, come with a whole bunch of logistical fun, but the results can be worth it many times over. But it's important that I show that kind of work because it is my style, what I love to shoot, and what I want people to want me to create for them.
Lawrence YMCA Music Clubhouse
Recently, I shot a story for a magazine article that profiled a program at the Lawrence, Massachusetts YMCA, called the Music Clubhouse. In the basement of the Y, kids are invited and encouraged to learn, practice, perform and to exercise their musical creativity. This is one of several Music Clubhouses sponsored by the Music and Youth Initiative, a Boston non-profit that has established seven others in the Greater Boston Area. The Lawrence clubhouse exists with the help of numerous collaborators, such as Avid, my alma mater Berklee College of Music, and numerous other donors and volunteers.
Recently, I shot a story for a magazine article that profiled a program at the Lawrence,
Massachusetts YMCA, called the Music Clubhouse. In the basement of the Y, kids are invited and
encouraged to learn, practice, perform and to exercise their musical creativity. This is one of
several Music Clubhouses sponsored by the Music and Youth Initiative, a Boston non-profit that has
established seven others in the Greater Boston Area. The Lawrence clubhouse exists with the help of
numerous collaborators, such as Avid, my alma mater Berklee College of Music, and numerous other
donors and volunteers.
Massachusetts YMCA, called the Music Clubhouse. In the basement of the Y, kids are invited and
encouraged to learn, practice, perform and to exercise their musical creativity. This is one of
several Music Clubhouses sponsored by the Music and Youth Initiative, a Boston non-profit that has
established seven others in the Greater Boston Area. The Lawrence clubhouse exists with the help of
numerous collaborators, such as Avid, my alma mater Berklee College of Music, and numerous other
donors and volunteers.
Spring Cleaning of the Mind
Is it a headshot, or is it a portrait? I get a fair number of calls from people looking for a headshot. They are often business people who are told that they need to get a headshot taken for their employer's web site, or they are in business for themselves and they are working with a professional to improve their branding and on-line presence. They are often actors or musicians too, who need a headshot in order to audition. But this "headshot" thing... I think the term is complicit in the dumbing down of the concept in popular perception. If all they needed was a shot of their head, the arm's length iPhone self-portrait would do (or should I call it a self-headshot? Self-inflicted headshot?), as would scanning their driver's license photo, although there may be copyright issues there ;-) Clearly, neither approach would be acceptable to a casting director or a marketing/branding consultant.
The ease with which we can all create digital photographs of exceptional technical quality has made professional photography a difficult pursuit. Consequently, there are many photographers who, out of desperation I think, will be willing to do a $20 headshot. I will not. Art can never be a commodity. Once it becomes a commodity it cedes its place as art. A professional must value himself or herself as an artist.
Now there is nothing in the slightest wrong with a traditional approach to a headshot. In fact, many purposes for what a headshot is used have specific requirements and norms for such shots. That being said, artistry does matter. An artist will fulfill the client's requirements and then go the extra distance to make the session matter. Other artists, such as performers, are easier to convince, but it's often difficult to persuade business people of the value of really great photography, especially when they are the subject. But when you see or think of the best kinds of business branding and marketing, the photography is never mundane or perfunctory. It's extraordinary and special. It's art.
If you have read some of my previous posts you may recognise a couple of these people. Some of these "headshots" were done in the course of doing environmental portraits for them. But these headshots are portraits just the same! They are unique and in each case I have made an attempt to bring out the personality in each individual while creating an esthetically pleasing experience. A photographer who cares and who values his or her work and artistic sensibilities is worth investing in.
What's The Difference?
As a freelancer, two of my roles in this operation are marketing and sales. I hear all of the experts: branding blah blah blah differentiation blah blah blah engaging blah blah blah. Can you hear it? Obviously that's all important and unless I or someone I hire does that for me, I will be a very lonely freelancer indeed. It's a given that exposure to the right audience is essential. There is a ton of advice out there on the tubes of the internets as to how to go about making that happen.
If 5 photographers make themselves visible to a potential client through their effective marketing and sales efforts, and they all seem to be the same in the eyes of that potential client, which one does she choose? (If no one raises their hand I will have to call on someone!) The answer is: they choose one at random, or one who answers their email request for a bid. Clearly, there are other factors that, in the real world, come into play such as a usable web site, as opposed to one that re-sizes the browser, plays music, has slippery, ever moving and morphing navigation controls that scream: GET ME OUT OF HERE! What other factors might make a potential client choose one photographer over another, all things seeming equal? Proximity of the photographer, referrals and references, the consistent message put forth in their web presence, etc.
Have I led you up to the precipice of the obvious yet? What's the real differentiator? Remember, if no one raises their hand... Answer: It's the work! Photographer Nick Onken has written a good piece here that you should take a look at, BUT COME BACK! http://nickonken.com/blog/2011/01/the-quality-diversity-of-your-product.html
People have a penchant for sameness much of the time. Kids don't want to be different. It seems to be an instinct at some point in our human development. At times it does makes sense to emulate success. That's clearly valuable as a learning tool. I think where it becomes destructive is when it is a mantra, such as the misguided conventional wisdom that standardized testing of school children is going to generate a well educated population. I can tell you that if there had been a standardized test to graduate from high school when I was that age, I might still be there now trying to pass it. But say such a methodology were to be successful. What has been accomplished? Millions of identically informed people who have never been encouraged to be different, to think critically or to be creative. There's a prescription for success...
*If you are not sure of what I am referring to at the asterisk, please call my friend Selina Maitreya, or read one of her books! http://selinamaitreya.com/
I have sprinkled this post with some recent work that I like, for no other reason than to show it. Plus getting it out there will force me to go out and create more :-) So here are even more!
Understanding Our Influences
I want to state right up front that I am most definitely not an expert in painting or art history, but I have been giving quite a lot of thought lately to how some of the great portrait painters of the past had understood the basic elements of portraiture that we all need to keep learning and practicing: light, color and composition. The first two, being interrelated and the foundation of any good representational art form, are applicable to both color and B&W photography. The range of black to white tones in B&W are simply colors in a more narrow range. Composition encompasses not only the framing, the position and pose of the subjects, the background and other secondary elements, but probably most importantly it the device through which the story of the work is told.
I had the pleasure recently of visiting the new 'Art of the Americas' wing at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. It happens to be almost in my back yard, but if you have the chance to visit Boston, it's a great museum and the new wing is pretty spectacular. The work of John Singer Sargent, which I had seen many times before, made an even bigger impression on me this time than it had in the past. It may have been because of the MFA's new presentation, but I think it probably had more to do with the thinking I have been doing about those three elements and how they apply to photographic portraiture.
As photographers, we tend to get a little provincial about what we do and how we do it, rather than looking back at how some of those who came before us did things. I think this applies to how and if we think of the great photographers of the past as well. Clearly, many of us are inspired by the greats: Ansel Adams, Karsh, Bresson, ... the list is long. But I need to constantly remind myself to not re-invent the wheel and to let those influences work their magic. I know that some people think that relying on such influences cause us to create work that is not original. Everyone begins doing what they do without already having the skills that come with education, practice and experience, but no one begins creating without having been influenced by those who came before them. Sometimes we can fail to use those influences for the good of our work though, relying on what we think is acceptable at the current time, in terms of technique and artistic sensibility. Think about the work that we might do to differing degrees that may be technically perfect, but while being esthetically current and accepted, is very uninteresting. I see photographic work all the time, as I'm sure you do, that is myopically photographic in style, where it is apparent that the artist thinks only in terms of "photographs" and not allowing any other ambient forces to enter in.
So back to Singer Sargent... The large group portrait called "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" is owned by the MFA, and is probably one of his most popular. It is really quite spectacular in person, being 87 3/8 by 87 5/8 inches. More impressive though is the artist's use of light, coming from a large, muted and soft source, his use of equally muted pastels, and presenting the viewer with an incredibly compelling composition. The four subjects are placed in a triangular formation, which is pleasing at an unconscious level, and while their postures and lack of movement don't necessarily telegraph any particular story, the viewer is wondering what may be going on in that foreground, as well as deep in the dark recesses of the room beyond.
Another Sargent painting at the MFA that doesn't get mentioned much, which may have to do with the fact that it is a seemingly simple, posed portrait, rather than the environmental group portrait that is "The Daughters...". Many of these paintings do not look like much on a computer monitor, and the painting called "Mrs. Charles E. Inches (nee Louise Pomeroy)" is no exception. In person, the color and light that is cast onto the subject and into the room is truly surreal. Maybe I am just blown away by the realism of the work, although I am certainly a lover of the abstract. It fascinates me though in terms of how aware Sargent was of not simply throwing light onto a subject, but rather how he seems to have carefully crafted light that both sculpted and illuminated Mrs. Inches' face in such a way that the viewer can imagine this person and wonder about who she might have been.
One more, and I promise this is my last example, is "Lady Agnew of Lochnaw", which is owned by and currently at the National Gallery of Scotland. My recommendation is to just look at this picture. The beautiful light, the incredible colors, and the casual pose and overall composition, to say nothing of the technique...nearly perfect.
So how does this all apply to photography? I think we can get caught up in camera and lighting gear, which can be a fun, albeit very expensive preoccupation. We can also get pretty wrapped up in the frenzy of people, places and things that often accompany a photo shoot. I constantly have to tell myself to SLOW DOWN. It's not funny really. I need constant assurance that my subject is not getting impatient with me. When I can do this, I can think about my ultimate goal, which is a picture that might please me. In my work, there is good and bad, but there is also a sort of intangible quality of whether it works or does not work. There's no gray area for me on that topic. The photo must “work”. That's what I am after. So just because the light is positioned at a "correct" location, the photo is perfectly exposed, and the composition is by the book, this is all meaningless. We are not "taking" a picture, we are making one, or creating a painting with digital tools in place of paints and brushes. There are rules, but there are no rules. There's good and bad, but there's also art.
In an Instant
I haven't had a chance to blog is quite a while, mostly because I have been busy preparing for an exhibition that painter Bill Tyers and I are presenting at Western Avenue Studios, in Lowell, Massachusetts. We hung the show last week, opening the doors on the show last Wednesday, October 27th, 2010, so I thought I would share a couple of installation shots. We are all very happy with the show and hope that you call all make the reception, Friday evening, November 5th, from 6 to 9 PM. Please scroll down for the details. I hope to see you!
In an Instant
Photography by Adrien Bisson and Paintings by Bill Tyers
October 27th - November 21st
Artists Reception: Friday, November 5th, 6-9pm
The Loading Dock Gallery
122 Western Avenue
Lowell, Massachusetts 01851
Click here for directions and a map to the gallery.
People at Work - Part 11 - Make Things Happen
I have know multi-talented artist Glenn Szegedy for a couple of years, having photographed some of his work for his portfolio. I only recently asked him to pose for a portrait though, after wanting to ask him for some time. Things get in the way. Time passes. I have found that I need to make myself go out and flip some bits on the digital sensor occasionally and not just sit on the merits (or lack) of what I have shot in the past. It's important for me to make things happen and not wait for them to occur, because they probably won't.
I wanted to photograph Glenn in his studio because it really provides an ideal background visually, and it reflects Glenn's way of working and maybe his style. He seemed to want to straighten up, but I wanted to capture his working world just as I found it.
You can also visit him at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Location Portraiture - A Small Room, One Window and One Light
I recently shot a portrait of Maureen Lanigan, the Director of the Rogers Center, at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, for another magazine piece. The editor was really interested in getting a shot of Maureen in her office, which was nicely decorated, but very small. If you've ever tried to light someone in a small room like this, you know that it can be a challenge, especially if the walls are light. Fortunately, her office has a window, but on the day that we had scheduled for the shoot, the sky was cloudy and overcast; a typical Massachusetts day in early May. What to do?
I decided to set up a speedlight outside that window, with a shoot through umbrella. The good news was that there wasn't much wind, which was important because I was working alone, but I did have sand bags so I wasn't too worried. The bad news was that once I had the umbrella in place, it started to rain. Perfect! Unfortunately, a shoot through umbrella is not the right sort for keeping rain off the light. So I improvised with some cinefoil, making a little tent for the light. Another problem solved!
The result was a very natural, soft light coming from the side. I used a warming gel in order to give the light of the overcast day a little life, and I placed a disk reflector to the left, to bounce that window light back at Maureen. One light, a little available light, and a very natural look.
