quote of the week, march 26th

Andy · March 26, 2005

previous quotes of the week:

march 19, 2004

march 12, 2004

march 5, 2005

february 26, 2005

february 19, 2005

this week's quote is by pioneering commercial portrait photographer robert bachrach

The technical aspects of photography - lighting, camera angles and background - have to be second nature, said Bachrach, because the real challenge is communication and getting the subject to mellow out.
"People hire me to take pictures of them that are flattering, so that's a prerequisite for the job," he said. "To do that, I have to get them to let their guard down, because people always put their guard up when there's a camera around. Then you can get great pictures."
He guaranteed that things like lighting and the precise camera angle must be chosen carefully, but affirmed that the expression is king. "And the only way to get that is to communicate with [the client.] It can't be just like photographing an inanimate object." -Robert Bachrach

hard to disagree with this - i'm interested in hearing :ear what you do to elicit the best from your subjects....

discuss.

oh and here's a couple of bachrach portraits of my father, from 1960 and 1980. during the 60s, 70s and 80s, bachrach studios had the exclusive on photographing ibm executives.

they were nothing if not consistent :lol3

Andy · April 3, 2005

i'm giving up on quote of the week

GREAPER · April 3, 2005

andy wrote:

i'm giving up on quote of the week

Well, there isn't much there to disagree with..

When I am working in the studio with someone, I think it is important to have a conversation. Talk about them and their lives. You need to get to know them a little before you can get honest expressions. I dont want shots with a cheesy fake smile. If I get a smile, I want a real one that their friends and family will recognise as the usual expression of happiness.

I like true looks. Looks that are easily rocognisable as the personallity of the subject.

This takes a connection which is not always easy to acheive.

But it is fun trying to get the client to have fun. Thats when I think it works.

Andy · April 3, 2005

GREAPER wrote:

Well, there isn't much there to disagree with..

thanks brian - yeah what i am trying to do is stimulate discourse on varied topics with the quote of the week

thanks for your contribution!

GREAPER · April 3, 2005

andy wrote:

thanks brian - yeah what i am trying to do is stimulate discourse on varied topics with the quote of the week

thanks for your contribution!

And I like it.

I dont always have a reply to the quote, but I check it out every week. I do enjoy reading the words of these people important in the world of photography.

I remember seeing this the day you originally posted this thread. I read it, studdied the portraits of your father (It's really neat that you have these by the way), thought to myself, ... "Yeah, I agree with that" and moved on to the next thread. If thats what it takes to keep the feature going, I will make it a point to post my reaction to the quote weather I agree or not.

I get fired up when someone posts something that i disagree with, but when I agree, I am less likely to post. Even when looking at posted shots in the forum, If I agree with what everyone before me has said, I tend to not post.

I will work on it.

Shay Stephens · April 3, 2005

andy wrote:

hard to disagree with this - i'm interested in hearing what you do to elicit the best from your subjects....

When I am shooting portraits, I try to break into the real emotional response of the person. If they are stiff and not wanting to smile, then I have to get around that and get them off guard. I ask them to frown and look real serious. That alone can sometimes get a real smile from them. But if not, I shoot the serious look, which almost never looks good.

With that out of the way, I then ask them, instead of "ok smile", I ask them to relax their face and just give the faintest expression of contentment (think Mona Lisa). If they do that, then the cycle of self consciousness has been broken. They are now following my direction. I then ask them, especially if it is a group shot, "Ok, now pretend you're happy" or "Ok, now pretend you like being close to so and so".

But then there are just some people who won't do nothin' you ask (Why did they come for a portrait I wonder hehehe). But that group is in the single digit percentile. They are the hard core ones, and you have to just try and shoot a decent serious look from them. Try to tone down the angry look and turn it more into a contemplative or reflective expression.

Anyway, I enjoy these quotes of the day, but I only recently discovered them. SO I would be sad to see them go away.

wxwax · April 3, 2005

Aw, don't kill the QOTD, Andy. I just had nothing to say about this.

Oh, wait, sure I did. That guy's a dummy, of course technical precision is more important than capturing emotion - no-one cares what people are feeling, they just want them to look good. And by careful application of empirically derived mathmatical models, you can shape a person's face to deliver a satisfactory expression.

Just don't blow the lighting.

How's that?

GREAPER · April 3, 2005

wxwax wrote:

Aw, don't kill the QOTD, Andy. I just had nothing to say about this.

Oh, wait, sure I did. That guy's a dummy, of course technical precision is more important than capturing emotion - no-one cares what people are feeling, they just want them to look good. And by careful application of empirically derived mathmatical models, you can shape a person's face to deliver a satisfactory expression.

Just don't blow the lighting.

How's that?

Interesting perspective....

Andy · April 3, 2005

Shay Stephens wrote:

Anyway, I enjoy these quotes of the day, but I only recently discovered them. SO I would be sad to see them go away.

ok thanks guys i will continue them. but it's contingent on particaption

jess3000 · April 20, 2009

That is really Interesting perspective!

Snowgirl · April 20, 2009

Guess there wasn't a lot of response for 4 years - eh?

To be a good photographer first you have to have the technical aspects down pat so you can set and forget about it, basically - and focus (bad pun intended) on eliciting the best possible expression from your subject - human or animal.

Now SOME of us have unique sidelines. Me - i shoot bulls. (Yes some bull sh*t too). When breeding farms are promoting their bulls to stud, they need good shots that are well lit and focus on - shall we say - the breeding apparatus? You want to talk about someone doing some fast talking - I have to get the handler to position a 3000 pound behemoth 'just so' - with each leg in the ideal position and angled, slightly uphill, so that either natural (low angle) sunlight or flash will highlight those 'puppies' for prospective cows (or their owners) to admire. Trust me - when you're that close to a critter that could get unpleasant, you DON'T want to be thinking about any technical details like f/stops, shutter speeds etc.

Hey - it's what I do.

quote of the week, march 26th

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