Pixiq

Gesture

Portraits and people pictures can also benefit from a sense of moment. Most of the time, this takes the form of a characteristic or significant gesture by your subject. A “gesture” doesn’t necessarily mean a literal hand movement (although they certainly qualify). Rather, it means an action—a facial expression or a certain posture—that gives a momentary insight into your subject’s mood or character.

I remember photographing an old man in a tiny pub in the middle of Transylvania. He was telling a story to the other patrons, feeling no pain. Although I didn’t understand one word of what he was saying, he would occasionally punctuate his narrative with hand gestures and plaintive looks up into the eyes of his audience. I observed his rhythms and was able to time—just from his inflection, body language, and tone—when the key gesture would come. I was primed and ready to capture this decisive moment, even though I couldn’t understand a word the man was actually saying!

But what if it’s a portrait situation and you’re “directing” the subject? How do you elicit the decisive gesture from them? The key is interaction. You have to give your subject something to respond to—conversation, some posing instructions, a wisecrack or a joke—and you must have the camera up to your eye, ready to capture their reaction. Ironically, a working knowledge of the language is great, but not required, because it’s often your tone of voice and body language that helps to calm the subject and elicit honest reactions. Those reactions may be singular and momentary, however, and this means that you must have not only a sense of anticipation, but also a good working knowledge of your camera’s operation. Otherwise, those fleeting expressions and gestures will be lost while you fiddle with the controls. Talking to someone with a camera to your eye may seem a bit awkward at first, but after a while both you and your subject get used to it. If I am photographing a particularly shy or non-responsive person, I will often make a joke or a wisecrack with the camera glued to my eye to make sure to catch their unguarded and hopefully smiling response.

Sometimes, especially if the photographer falls silent and stops interacting, an inexperienced photo subject will “freeze up” on you, and go into what I like to call the “firing squad pose”—a glazed expression, hands at their sides, standing straight up on two feet— the kind of body language that says, “Shoot me now, and put me out of my misery!”

The only time people should stand with their weight equally distributed on two feet with their hands hanging by their sides for a picture is when they’re awaiting a chest X-ray or a mug shot! Get your subjects to lean, prop one foot up, put their hands on their hips—anything to break up that straightforward mug shot. A relaxed posture usually means leaning on one foot or the other. Sometimes, you may need to actually demonstrate the relaxed posture in order for your subject to grasp what you’re saying.

A prop can help relax your subject, give him something familiar to which he can relate, and help him concentrate on something other than the camera (which, to many people, is somewhat intimidating). A golfer leaning against her driver, an animal lover with his pet, a farmer with his rake or hoe—anything to occupy the hands of your subject to keep him relaxed.

Eye-to-eye portraits are fine, but you can occasionally create some extra interest or impact by getting lower or higher than your subject. A lower point of view makes your

subject appear more dominating or important. A higher point of view creates a more friendly or approachable impression. Portraits of children are especially effective when shot from their eye level rather than yours. You’d be surprised at how different the world looks from their perspective!

Another idea is to go back to the visual homework method. Most magazines today run portraits of celebrities and newsmakers in their own environment. The photographers that set up and shoot these layouts are master of creative posing and body language, and this is a wonderful way to research and study images for posing tips.

Candid vs. Posed

I don’t have hard and fast rules as to which is the preferable way to photograph people, candidly or posed. For me, it’s strictly a question of “situational ethics.” If I see a wonderful little slice of life being played out on a corner in Rome or Rhode Island, I’ll try to grab it with a long lens, perhaps, so I can stay out of the equation and capture the moment that way, without the participants ever being aware of my presence. That’s the ideal scenario.

On the other hand, I may wade into a crowded street with a wide angle and try to grab street scenes, getting up close and personal with the wide-angle perspective. And at any time, if I see someone with whom I think I’d like to work, I’ll approach them, make contact, share my assignment, and hopefully walk away with some nice environmental portraits.

I do find that the less experience the photographer has, the more he will tend to shoot candids and nothing else. This, of course, is a limiting factor in the types of people pictures and personal encounters you’ll have, so I recommend overcoming the inertia and reaching out to people in your travels. Both you and your photographs will be the richer for it.