How to capture intimacy: a photographer on her process
A photographer explains how she works with people who have never been photographed before: how to put them at ease, and how to capture intimacy.
How to capture intimacy: a photographer on her process
"It seems to me that photographing people with no experience of being photographed is far more interesting than photographing models, for whom it's a profession."
We talked to a photographer about how she works: how to photograph people who feel shy, and how to capture intimacy.
"The thought that all people are fragile and tender has always been really important to me. So I guess the only thing I do, apart from observing carefully, is look at people this way and search for that tenderness and fragility in them.
It seems to me that photographing people with no experience of being photographed is far more interesting than photographing models, for whom it's a profession. Staged, carefully planned photography doesn't speak to me at all. I try to set up everything during a shoot so that, for the person who has come to be photographed, the shoot itself fades into the background and doesn't feel so noticeable or nerve-racking. Meanwhile, I try to watch closely what is actually happening and not invent anything extra or artificial about the person.
Mostly I photograph people who are being photographed for the first or second time in their lives. Most often they're women or couples who find me on Instagram and write that they'd like to come and be photographed. From the very beginning I decided that I would only shoot what I myself like and feel close to, so all of my work is what I post on Instagram."
I always take a great many frames. I need that so the pictures have a sense of movement, almost of a breath, so that a photo is like a screenshot from a video at its most beautiful moment.
How does the process work? Location
I shoot in simple, bright studios, out in forests and fields, or in people's homes. The last option is often more comfortable for couples in love: for example, I come over, we have coffee, chat a little, and then I start photographing them in a home setting that is very familiar to them.
We settle on a place, pick a suitable time and book a studio if we've decided to shoot in one. I always help with choosing a studio: I have a few favourites where I shoot most often.
How does the process work? Clothes, make-up, preparation
At this same stage I suggest asking any questions about the shoot, even if they seem silly or awkward. Most often they're about what clothes to bring and whether to see a make-up artist or get hair removal.
When it comes to clothes, I always advise bringing things you love and know well. It's best if they have no bright prints or slogans, but the bigger priority is that you feel comfortable in them. With make-up artists and hair removal, I also ask people to go by their own habits and their own comfort.
Some people want to look at their body as it is and not do anything special for the shoot. Others want to get a massage or hair removal before the shoot and be photographed like that.
To my mind, it's wonderful when a body shows its history and its life: folds, stretch marks, hair, bruises from the table you've been accidentally bumping your leg into all your life, uneven tan lines, scars, pimples and wrinkles. This is a body: it's alive, it's always changing, and it responds sensitively to everything.
How does the process work? The day of the shoot
After all these questions, the next time we meet is at the shoot itself. There's usually some time when we walk to the studio together or have coffee at home and talk. That time is almost always enough to get used to each other and stop feeling shy.
I've noticed that people usually expect to see some very serious photographer who has seen lots of beautiful people, so they get very nervous and shy in advance. But I'm a funny, awkward girl, and I don't hide that at all during shoots. I understand that the "photographer" is in a somewhat more protected and safer position in this process, so I always try to open up first.
During the shoot I don't expect anything from the "model", and I don't expect them to start posing for me. I think that's why almost everyone quickly feels comfortable and at ease.
How does the process work? After the shoot
Two or three weeks after the shoot I send a link to a folder of edited photos. I always promise 70 edited photos, but I edit every one I like. It usually comes to about a hundred.
All photos from a shoot are confidential: I ask permission for anything I'd like to post.
I'm so lucky that I'm almost always allowed to post any of the photos, but sometimes people would rather keep all of them just for themselves, and that's absolutely okay too.
