I am still not comfortable asking people if I can take their picture. I will probably not ever be comfortable with asking strangers if I can take their picture. It’s a little weird, and maybe even creepy. Still, I am compelled to capture these moments.
This is Tazmonn (below) and Alex (above). Tazmonn works at the Minneapolis Technical College, and Alex is a nursing student at the same college. Both of them allowed me to take their picture after I introduced myself.
I told them I am a local photographer (a white lie) and that I am out in the neighborhood taking portraits (also a white lie, but whatevs) and, if I could, I would like to take their portrait as well. It is handy to have a business card in your pocket for such and occasion, which, at this point, I would produce. I tell them, if they want to get ahold of me, they can reach me via the contact information on the card (though the Portland address has since changed).
Both Tazmonn and Alex very graciously allowed me to snap away.
They both asked me, “What should I do?”
To be honest, I don’t really know how to answer that question. I want to capture people respectfully and honestly. If they want me to capture a dignified portrait, or something more off-the-cuff, I think that should be up to them. But also, I don’t yet know how to direct people into these poses. So, in the meantime, I just suggest, “You do you.” and ask them questions and while they answer the questions, took their pictures.
The other day, for work, I was taking the picture of a new guy who had just started. He asked me the same question: “What should I do?” I suggested, he stand still, so I could get a couple business-y shots. But then, I suggested he tell me how he drives home every day.
“What?” he said.
“Like,” I said. “What is your commute? What is it like?”
He said, “I take I-35.” He left it at that.
To get more, I recounted news I heard the other day. There was a big goddamn accident on the 35. Three lanes of traffic had been shut down, and some people were reporting their 20 minute commute home had been turned into a three hour nightmare.
“That was 35 South. I take 35 East.”
Clicking away, but only capturing expressions of concern and confusion, I pressed forward, “There’s two major highways in town and they couldn’t think of anything else to call them than the same thing?”
He said, “I guess.”
So, portrait photography is an art, but it’s also a brief, work-appropriate dance with a stranger. There’s a lot going on behind the camera that, clearly, I need to work on.