Achieving honesty and the essence of the person
DSC1682, originally uploaded by Fadzly Mubin.
Location: Chendering fishing port, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.
Taken with a Nikon D50 and Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G lens
A subject I am very interested in and am researching at the moment is how people behave in front of the camera. How much of what they show is honest, in order to please the photographer or to conform.
Do we ever achieve honesty and the essence of the person. Can they in fact be themselves in such an artificial environment sitting in front of the camera? I personally don't think they can. Image and identiy is a very complex subject. We all maquerade in some form or another every day of our lives. We choose what we wear and how we present ourselves.
I love portraiture and I do see merit is enhancing the best features to accentuate them or highlight them. I prefer natural lighting but its not always available. A bit of enhancement in the way of make up can be very charming. What's real and what's not is a very difficult patch. I generally make my subject look the best they possibly can with as little manipulation and artificial lighting as possible. If they wear a ton of make up who am I to say they can't.
Labels: AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G, Nikon D50, People, Philosophy of Photography, Photography, Portrait
