Tarting up the product
DSC_0581, originally uploaded by Fadzly Mubin.
Children Playground, Tok Jembal Beach, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu Malaysia
Taken with a Nikon D50 and Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G lens
"All portraits are staged". I think this may be at the heart of this "honesty" thing ... the recognition of the process by all involved, without pretending to be something other than what you are at that moment. While portraits cannot show all a person is, I distrust those that claim too loudly "This is what I am".
I call this tendency "tarting up the product", rather than letting it be what it is and trusting the value of a thing to reveal itself when the photographer is prepared.
I sometimes have less than a minute to get a good portrait of someone. Often in these situations I find the images made in the first seconds of our meeting offer insights not attainable with much longer sessions. People begin to fret and try to present some idealized versions of themselves, which seem, dishonest...
Labels: AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G, Nikon D50, People, Philosophy of Photography, Photography
