N-Photo

94 March 2016 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

hand we’re all very, very familiar with ordinary life

a nd tend to pa ss it over i n favou r of t he di f ferent.

Almost without exception, people in front of

the camera become interesting and worthwhile

photographing when they move and express

t hem selves i n pa r t ic u la r way s. F lat e x pression s,

slumped postures and unexceptional movements

just do not cut it in photography. This should come

as no surprise, because if you watch other people’s

behav iou r, t hat ordi na r i ness i s t he defau lt, so why

would it be worth a photo? That’s right, it isn’t, which

is where attention to moment comes in. Say that you

have subject in front of you, and they’re likely to be

there for a minute or two. It could be a studio session

or candid shooting in the street, with direction or

without. Subject, lighting and composition alone

will just produce a serviceable image. To be special,

you would need to wait for a gesture or expression

that lifts it above the ordinary. And if that doesn’t

happen, at some point you have to move on.

Perhaps the most important thing of all to

remember is that the moment you choose to capture

that expresses some character in the person you’re

photographing is your interpretation, not necessarily

truthful or representative or fair. The great Richard

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light in his portraiture, said that it was so the subject

could move freely, “So that I can get to them, to the

e x pression t hey ma ke, so t hat t hey a re f ree to do or

express something which is the way I feel.” The point

of t he la st few words bei ng, a s he a l so w rote, “ My

portraits are more about me than they are about the

people I photograph.”

W

hen human beings become the main focus

of a shot, the opportunities and the ideal

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dealing here with the most interesting

class of subject for photography on the planet –

potentially. There’s automatically a dual response

from viewers: on the one hand we’re all interested

in what other people might be up to, but on the other

Tea picking in Kawane, Japan.

The hand gesture, and tea leaf

sticking to the thumb, are what

make the picture come alive

When people are your subject, it’s worth trying to capture

the moments when they reveal something of themselves

NIK PEDIA FREEMAN ON...

Our globetrotting Contributor at Large, renowned

photographer and prolific author Michael Freeman,

presents a monthly masterclass that’s exclusive to

N-Photo. Michael has published dozens of books on

photography, including the bestselling Perfect Exposure.

Freeman on...

Capturing gesture

and expression

INTRODUCTION