Wedding

It was more than the quality of his pictures, it was the way he photographed people. He seemed to have a real rapport with them, they were being themselves, very comfortable. I don’t want it to sound derogatory, but they were almost like snapshots in that sense.

Laurie Kratochvil Photo editor at Rolling Stone on Herb Ritts

I want this thought to be in my head whenever I am shooting people. This not only applies to the great Herb Ritts but also my most favourite fashion and portrait photographer Bruce Weber. It also ties in with how I believe that the greatest photographs are not great because of some technical wizardry but are images that resonate with the human spirit. It touches us in a very natural way; we feel a connection with the place, occasion or the person. 

I don’t want to ever have someone ask the lens type or what file size or model of camera that image was taken on. I just want them to say ‘Wow what a beautiful photograph’. And I know that the same image could have been taken on any camera going back a hundred years, All the technical advances in photography and the digital revolution would not make any difference to the beauty, power and impact of such an image. And as Laurie Kratochvil points out its all about the rapport with your subject. This comes down to personality and you cannot teach personality. Its something you are born with and of course it may develop over time with life experience and maturity perhaps but charisma, charm and humour are imbued naturally. I know both these huge talented photography giants have all of those characteristics in abundance and they all played into their well deserved success as photographers. 

I briefly met Herb Ritts at the Photographers Gallery in the mid 90’s. He had an exhibition at the gallery and I was a student studying my photography degree and had popped in to see his show. It was even before I was an assistant shamelessly chasing my photographer heroes and hassling them to let me assist them. In awe and respect I am pretty sure I said very little and humbly asked him to sign something when I met him. Of course I wish I could go back in time and try to have some sort of meaningful connection with him. I can still picture him sat behind the desk in the center of the gallery looking up at me. 

But I truly believe in that the rapport is key to creating great portraits. I often have in my mind an image of what I want to create. A sort of visual goal of what I want to get from the session and that’s my aim. I have already worked out in my mind the approach technically and for sure kept that simple. I hope I would have had a chance to reccy the location, decide on the spot, pose and lighting. But the real magic comes from the moment you engage with your subject and the chemistry (or lack of) takes the session on its own course. Of course it can go horribly wrong if you don’t connect or say something that clashes with the subject’s opinion. That essential chemistry is something so natural and has to flow like any relationship no, matter how brief. It’s from that organic connection that the sitter can then react and engage and reveal. Without that you are really just lost and the portrait may be somewhat flat and lacking in the impact you desire. I remember assisting a photographer regularly whose entire effort to create a rapport and chemistry was to simply direct the subject to look to the left and then look to the right and now look to the front. That was it, like a police mug shot process. It was cringe worthy to witness and I always wanted to shout out a joke to initiate some comical response. And of course it’s not like I always get it right either. There is always that tricky moment when the subject looks at you and just says ‘well make laugh then’. A challenge and you just freeze. But it’s not all about clowning around and telling one-liners trying to make your subject laugh. It’s an energy and a relationship between you and the sitter. Often that comes already embedded with the great photographers whose reputations and personalities are well known. A model or celebrity may already be excited, primed with admiration and awe to be in the company of a great photographer and more than willing to do anything and offer any cooperation to achieve amazing results. They have already seen the stunning pictures in other publications and want to be part of that. If the photographer worked that magic with that famous model or actor then I want to be the next and am willing to cooperate and make it happen. 

Laurie Kratochvil goes on to say that Herb Ritts doesn’t force his photography on the person. It’s more important for them to feel comfortable and then get the picture. ‘He is so totally adaptable, he picks up on what the person is about’.This too is quite telling and the idea that you need to make a sitter comfortable comes up all the time. People are often fearful of having their portraits and find it awkward and stressful as if they were sat in a dentist’s chair. A flattering feedback for a photographer is when the subject tells them that they were made to feel very comfortable. I know that many celebrities have a particular look that they display when being photographed. They know their best angle and expression and its part of their identity. They strive to give this look out whenever photographed and they feel comfortable that they have some control over that image. And its not just celebrities who are photographed regularly but most people have some sense of how they prefer to be shot. I remember when I used to shoot for Vogue each week and I would often come across Mario Testino at some function. We always got along well and I used to bump into him in New York too. I used to photograph him often and he always gave the same look and expression back to me. He would be grinning, glowing, confident and essentially happy and beautiful which is similar to how he shoots his subject and models. It’s the look that says fashion and beauty and its all part of the brilliant Testino brand. 

Laurie Kratochvil also talks about a rapport and that for sure is not something that is easily faked. If that essential rapport is not there its impossible to pretend and how on earth can you make it happen. You can be an expert at processing or retouching images and know all the buttons on your fancy expensive digital camera but if you cant have a rapport and make your subject relaxed you won’t ever get a great photo no matter how clever you are with digital photography and technical lighting. This really fascinates me and for sure is at the heart of so much great fashion and portrait photography. This is about creating an environment and an energy that allows the chance of a great moment or expression to flourish. A flat atmosphere and lack of chemistry between the sitter and photographer is simply awful and you may as well pack up and go home. We talk about flirting with the subject or the other round of course. The idea that the frission of sexual chemistry will entice the right look and feeling is often held as a successful route to a great image. I remember when I used to hold castings and go-sees in my flat with all the models. It was really fascinating to see which girls absolutely used flirting as a way to grab attention, get the gig and make a success of the visit. I certainly don’t have any problem with this and its knowing the boundaries and accepting the realities. It was always a head spin to have a day of incredibly young beautiful girls showing me so much attention and flattery. Now however I am so worried of this going horribly wrong. I am much older, and the models are the same age. The world has changed and I essentially live to a degree in some fear of saying something inappropriate no mater how innocent it may be. Perhaps one could suggest I am simply too afraid to flirt now and that in itself is sad as given the right environment and with correct parameters I feel it helps. It contributes to creating a great relationship and connection that could form the bond needed between photographer and model. That connection and bond can result in incredible images with the right spark and energy required. Now I may be too cautious and flat and thus lacking in what made me so much fun and successful before. Is it too sanitized and the fun gone or is it still there and its about respecting the boundaries and judging the person and moment?

There was no flirting with models at this wedding but I certainly did my best to create the right atmosphere when shooting. Charlotte and Henry’s beautiful wedding was held at St. Andrew’s Church in Nether Wallop and then guests went on to the family cottage for dinner and dancing and all the usual fun and happenings of a glorious English country wedding. It was simply the most perfect day and an absolute pleasure to be witness and photographer.