 Robert Bridges |
Making a Heartfelt Connection with the Subject This question is not about film, nor is it about digital. It's about the art of photography regardless of what format or camera you use. It's a simple question, really, yet one which has me stumped. Simply its this: How do you get to that place where you know ... where you feel that you are really and deeply connected to your subject (regardless of what that subject is)? How do you come to that place/space where you feel at one with your subject?
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- Kelly Abernathy Contact Kelly Abernathy Kelly Abernathy's Gallery |
Interesting question. I feel it when I shoot what I love. I'm in my first photo class, and the assignments have taken me beyond what I normally shoot and I've learned that I love some of the new stuff and some of it I don't - although I'm definitely learning to improve my skills. But when I shoot what I love - be it family, wildlife, nature, candids - that's when I feel connected with my subject - while I'm shooting and while I'm processing. That's when I'm excited about what I'm catching in the moment and to see what I've caught when I process. It may be too simple of an answer to what you're looking for, but that's what came to my mind.
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Steve McCroskey |
Hi Robert! I find it easier to put myself into a "mind-set," so to speak, with the subject that I am going to take photos of. For example, last fall I spent 2 days in Mobile, Alabama, at the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Park. I put myself in a mind-set as to what it would have been like to stand on her decks during W.W.II. When working with wildlife, I think about the beautiful works of God. I hope this gives you some insight!!
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Peter K. Burian |
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Bob Cammarata |
Photography for most of us is a kind of high. That perfect light ... that sunset that seems to go on forever ... or that difficult or elusive subject that just seems to materialize ... as we are about to pack it in for another day. When are we "connected"?? In my case, when I start muttering to myself nonsensically while clicking away ... I'm there!
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Peter K. Burian |
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Robert: As usual, an excellent question. I haven't yet really had that experience. I have come close, however. I don't know when it happens, it just does. It's like love. You can't predict or plan it, it just hits you over the head, unexpectedly and there's really nothing you can do about it. There are times when you and a subject just click. I do think that there are photographers who can sort of seduce their subjects, just like men who can "play" women. This seduction takes on a form of its own and the interplay between subject and photographer almost becomes a sexual dance, or certainly flirtatious. Photographers are voyeurs, and therefore, some less-experienced photographers take an "arm's length" approach. Or, some really great photographers may move in and out of the session depending on the subject and situation. A keen mind and creative eye can probably turn the drabbest subject into works of art. How do you get to that point? I don't know because I always pull back because I'm afraid of letting go.
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Tom Walker |
Peter, you hit it on the head: It's not the equipment, it's the photograph, I've seen some excellent shots taken with pinhole cameras and developed using an egg white emulsion spread on plain white paper
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Tom Walker |
Sorry, to get back to the question: When I stand there with my mouth open looking at a perfect sunset, or flower, or small child, and the photograph I capture gives me the same feeling of "awe", then I feel I've connected.
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Patricia A. Kuniega |
Hi Robert, I like the concept of getting into oneness with my subjects, because that is exactly the term I use for it when I'm getting ready to do some shooting. I mainly shoot flowers so I like to be in "oneness" with them when I get to wherever I'm going to photograph them. On my way to the destination point I say just that to myself, sort of willing the process to happen. Just like preparing for meditation, I try to let go of whatever distractions are in my mind. I don't want outside thoughts getting between me and the subject. I actively practice letting go. When I first get there I just allow myself to get off on the scene before me, allowing it to wash over me. I just absorb like a sponge for a while. I take it all in through my five senses. (very important!) I try to open myself up to the wonder of what's before me. Experiencing the scene fresh, like it's the first time I've ever seen the subject helps. I try to look at things from the viewpoint of a child, who is filled with wonder, imagination and joy. Then I begin to focus my attention on what is unique and beautiful. If it means running around with the camera hand-held for a bit, I allow myself that freedom. I don't like technology getting too much in the way at first. I try to ride that excitement and high, then come back to more serious focus. By the time I get focused, I'm lost in the subject. Hours can go by because I'm really deep into the subject. At that point nothing else really exists beyond what I'm doing. Then I know I've reached "oneness!" Hope this helps! : )
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John A. Lind |
Robert, Artistic work . . . and what separates it from craft[s] . . . conveys a message from the artist that created it to those that view and/or interact with it. That is the "art" itself . . . the message. The "work of art" is the thing used to convey the message . . . in this case the photograph. Before thinking about equipment(camera, film, lens focal length, etc.) I ask myself first: These things lead me to the equipment and film necessary to execute the visualization . . . the technical aspect of how to make a mental vision of a photograph a reality. This isn't necessarily a long process. I've gone from zero to visualization in a fraction of a second on many more than one occasion. OTOH, there have been some difficult subjects that I approach knowing there is something important to record to express to others and must work for hours to sort out what it is and how I want to present it. Fortunately, those instances are rare. Neither does it have to be complex with deep meaning or esoteric symbolism. It can be as simple as the objective of making a flattering, natural portrait of someone that expresses something about them as a person. However, if you can define in some manner why you're making the photograph(s), who they're intended for, and envision what they will look like, you will indeed begin to connect with your subject material . . . and with those who they're intended for afterward. I cling to these "first principles" very strongly. At a juried show several years ago, a juror didn't like one of my photographs and I asked him about it. The discussion that followed revealed that it had, indeed, conveyed to him *exactly* what was intended by it. With that I personally declared it a complete success even if he didn't like the "message" it contained. -- John Lind
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