Photographer
Howard Garcia
Posts: 2210
New York, New York, US
Jose Luis wrote:
I fall in love with every one of my subjects. But, Im fickle and lose interest just moments after that last shot. This is probably why I suck at shooting men and ugly people. :-)
-Jose lol....well said
Model
scarletdiva
Posts: 551
Los Angeles, California, US
Searcher wrote:
She said the best pictures came from moments when she had psyched herself into infatuation with the photographer. However brief the lock, she would do anything for him in that state, and the emotions rolling out of her skin produced the most powerful photographs in her portfolio. From the way she was speaking, it was not romantic love she described, but a love of something about the photographer that she could grip with her mind and focus her energies through. ...the best orgasms, too.
Photographer
Miles Chandler
Posts: 647
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
I agree.. I've done the infatuation thing, but I've also had a lot of models (especially in my younger days) who I really was involved with, and I think that intimacy often came through- both in their attitude to the camera and the way I portrayed them. Not that I go for any eroticism in my pics, but intimacy is harder to convey then lust.
Photographer
D. Brian Nelson
Posts: 5477
Rapid City, South Dakota, US
Searcher wrote:
Photographers: Have you had any experience of this and do you have a sense of this? Is the reverse true as well? Do you get better pictures when you really fall in love with something about the person who walks in the door? Is this the definition of a muse? Yes, the best photographs are a result of infatuation through the camera. It happens often, but not always.
No, this is not the definition of a muse. That is a far more permanent and profound relationship.
MadamePsychosis wrote:
...the best orgasms, too. I've been told this too. Best to ask my models, I guess...
-Don
Photographer
Jay Bowman
Posts: 6511
Los Angeles, California, US
Howard Garcia wrote:
I don't think your alanogy here works. What analogy?
Howard Garcia wrote:
You're referring to photographers "falling in love " with their subject, right? Yes, in response to the OP question to photographers...
Howard Garcia wrote:
Well...I don't think it matters much, the photographer just captures the look, but the model has to project it, create it, express it....LIVE it in order to be shot. I don't think it matters much either, though I disagree that I merely capture. I don't consider the way I compose a shot as quite such a passive endeavor. But that's neither here nor there...
Howard Garcia wrote:
As a photographer, I don't think it makes much of a difference what I feel. Very true. The photographer is expected to produce good imagery regardless.
Howard Garcia wrote:
However, on the subject of falling into the role....I don't think this works for all situations as well. But I think for images created from personal works...it could be interesting. Again, I agree. And stated such.
I'm a little confused on what you didn't agree with...
Photographer
Tom Holoubek
Posts: 342
Rockford, Illinois, US
I guess I'm a romantic in hopes of finding my muse the way Weston did.
Photographer
Howard Garcia
Posts: 2210
New York, New York, US
Jay Bowman wrote:
I'm a little confused on what you didn't agree with... Don't be, I went back and read the OP's post and realized there was a part I had not read directing a question to photographers and you're responding to that.
My bad.
Photographer
Searcher
Posts: 775
New York, New York, US
Sarah Ellis wrote:
Also, artisnal is not an english word. typo, meant artisanal
Photographer
Searcher
Posts: 775
New York, New York, US
Jay Bowman wrote:
Very true. The photographer is expected to produce good imagery regardless. Fu
Model
Krisha
Posts: 496
New York, New York, US
Jay Bowman wrote:
Never experienced this. Falling in love with the person who walks through the door is unnecessary for me; I've already fallen in love with the idea or concept that I'm shooting. perfect.
Photographer
Searcher
Posts: 775
New York, New York, US
It is not about falling in love, it is about establishing an emotional connection, and establishing a surreality for the lens.
Photographer
SKPhoto
Posts: 25784
Newark, California, US
Searcher wrote:
I was talking with a model late last night in a small basement wine bar in Grenwich Village, maybe it was on MacDougal Street, I'm not sure. There was a lot of good wine flowing past my tastebuds. But our conversation turned to what the model, also a very talented actress (and I don't say that lightly, this girl has the soul of a poet and therefore inate game in the emotion projection department), felt produced her best photographs. She said the best pictures came from moments when she had psyched herself into infatuation with the photographer. However brief the lock, she would do anything for him in that state, and the emotions rolling out of her skin produced the most powerful photographs in her portfolio. From the way she was speaking, it was not romantic love she described, but a love of something about the photographer that she could grip with her mind and focus her energies through.
Models: Is infatuation requisite for your best shots? Do you get less impressive images when you are not emotionally invested in the person holding the camera and directing you?
Photographers: Have you had any experience of this and do you have a sense of this? Is the reverse true as well? Do you get better pictures when you really fall in love with something about the person who walks in the door? Is this the definition of a muse?
Actors: Care to weigh in on this? Yes. Don't know if I would phrase like this, or call it infatuation, but yes I understand what you're talking about and I do agree.
Model
Peggy V
Posts: 378
Birmingham, Alabama, US
I am an actress at heart, but modeling is a creative outlet for me. I have definitely had my best images created with photographers that I have felt some sort of emotional attachment to, but that is not always the case.
The energy brought to the moment, both the photographer's and the model's, has a lot to do with the resulting images, I believe. It doesn't always have to be an intimate (or infatuation-like) connection. Sometimes, as mentioned earlier, it can be about trust, and good communication regarding the goals of the shoot. This isn't always verbal, either..sometimes you just connect and understand what you're both going for.
I have definitely experienced the 'let down' at the end of an intense shoot. The moments of slight discomfort, while you are separating what was real and what was 'performance' after the shots have been taken. It can be uncomfortable when both (model and photographer) are not ending up in the same place.
I have worked with what I call 'capture' photographers, as well as 'creation' photographers -- Capture photographers being those that allow me to move freely and capture amazing moments...and Creation photographer being the ones who come to the shoot with a vision and then assist the model in creating that vision. Personally, I prefer working with the Capture type...and I see more raw emotion in those images. But the Creation type seem to result in the most 'technically correct' photos.
Any thoughts on the differences between these two types? Or is this just me who sees it this way?
Photographer
Jay Bowman
Posts: 6511
Los Angeles, California, US
Photographer
Searcher
Posts: 775
New York, New York, US
I try to only act with passion. If there is no passion, then there is no reason to go on with life. That's why the conversation interested me so much. Being able to put more passion into my images interests me very much.
As for your other question, I value my privacy, and I certainly don't want to argue with you about employment situations. I am the art director on my own shoots, and I consider the set closed while I am working.
Photographer
Jay Bowman
Posts: 6511
Los Angeles, California, US
Searcher wrote:
I try to only act with passion. If there is no passion, then there is no reason to go on with life. That's why the conversation interested me so much. Being able to put more passion into my images interests me very much. Ah, here we go.
Inherent in that statement is a not-so-subtle insinuation that we art director's bitches lead some passionless existence. Because we focus our creative talents into a career? If you feel that someone's passion is hindered because there's another who provides the artistic direction then you have a very skewed idea of the process. This notion that you are more passionate in what you do merely because you function independantly is more than somewhat naive.
My passion is no less when I work under an art director than it is when I do my own art direction. But that's just me, not everyone is capable of being passionate when they don't have complete control...
Searcher wrote:
As for your other question, I value my privacy, and I certainly don't want to argue with you about employment situations. I am the art director on my own shoots, and I consider the set closed while I am working. Fair enough.
I respect your desire for privacy. I asked only because the idea of an "art director's bitch" often comes from people who apparent have no qualms with being someone else's bitch (a supervisor's or manager's or whatever)...
Photographer
The German Woman
Posts: 1346
Berlin, Georgia, US
As a model I never needed an emotional bond with any photographer shooting me. it was more like I let them witness an emotional moment. I shared it with them.
Now as a photographer i find that my photos are much more powerful when I care about my subject. That's why I love shooting portraits. I adore my subjects and I am somewhat in love with everyone of them. Not always sexually but some kind of attraction is always there.
Model
NC17
Posts: 1739
Baltimore, Maryland, US
Searcher wrote:
Also, one more question: what is involved on the model's side in the seperation at the end of the shoot? How does that work in your head: pulling yourself away from total commitment? For some reason reading through this thread a second time this caught me.
Often times when I develope a deeper connection with a photographer so that the type of situation happens as discribed in the original post I don't loose the connection at the end of the shoot. Those types of photographers are the ones that I seek out again and again. And honestly, it doesn't always happen on the first shoot, but developes over time as I gain trust, respect and we begin to build a friendship.
I have trouble building this type of thing with just anyone. But then, I'd never claim to be an actor. I don't do well falsifying my emotions. I am beginning to have the skill to pull different looks, but the deep emotions I just can't create without the personal connection. And honestly, its not something I choose to create. It either happens or it doesn't for me, and that spans beyond just photography. Its that way in my life all the way around. Thankfully most people that this has happened with feel mutual about the situation. I have had the pleasure of haveing several deep relationships in my lifetime, many of which are still maintained.
Model
NC17
Posts: 1739
Baltimore, Maryland, US
Tom Holoubek wrote:
You're right. But when do we smarten up? Do we need to smarten up? What is wrong with our heart deciding to care for someone? Its how you handle that care that makes the difference. Tom, I am glad that you revealed your feelings. I think its something that we as a society do too little of. We are hardly ever honest about how we really feel on the inside, so much so that we often can't even explain what we really do feel. I am sorry though that the model didn't know how to take such a high complement. That is a shame.
Model
Kayelin Walker
Posts: 21
Omaha, Nebraska, US
I'm a horrible flirt, so I think if I tried to trick myself into infatuation with the photographer I'd get nervous and hiccup-y.
That being said, I have did do a shoot where they wanted me to look sad and forlorn. I just dwellt on ideas of those closest to me dying and I think it really reflected in the shots.
Kaye
Model
JB
Posts: 861
Searcher wrote:
Models: Is infatuation requisite for your best shots? Do you get less impressive images when you are not emotionally invested in the person holding the camera and directing you? I was under the impression, from the beginning that this is how it's done. From the model replies here, it's a releif to know that something I am doing is half ass right.
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