Photographing People

PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE

Like the people you shoot and let them know it.

—Robert Capa

Above all, I know that life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indiﬀerence.

—Robert Frank

We love photographing each other—it is part of the fabric of being human. Becoming comfortable with this task takes a little time and initially a little nerve. But the power of being able to photograph people well is one of the most satisfying areas of photography.

Monument Valley in Ar izona is the home of Suzie Yazzie , 80-

plus year s old and a lifetime resident of the Navajo Nation and the amazing valley. I had the oppor tunity to photogr aph Suzie dur ing a shoot in the valley, where she still wor ks her sheep

and was gr acious enough to give me more than an hour of her time . Talk about intimidating—she was there when John Ford

shot Stagecoach back in 1939. I placed her off center, balancing her sheep in the background to create a slightly asymmetr ical

image . 7–14mm lens, 1/125 second at f8

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Perhaps you’ve turned to this chapter ﬁrst, as people are one of the most intimidating

and frustrating areas of photography. How the heck does a National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, or TIME photographer go into those situations where he or she may not speak a word of the language and come out with those magical and involved photos?

In many ways, it really is a simple combination of conﬁdence and interest. The conﬁdence is gained by having approached strangers many times, as well as knowing your equipment. Taking real interest in another person and who he is, is the other part of the equation. This is the heart of what we’ll talk about in this chapter.

Is There an Easy Formula to Photographing People ?

Yes, there is! I’ve mentored on several American Photo Mentor treks, and one of the most- asked questions is how to approach people

on the street. I’ve found the best answer to this question is a demonstration. I’ll be with a group of trekkers and we’ll ﬁnd someone on

the streets we want to photograph. Eye contact with a friendly look is the starter, followed by an explanation of what I’m doing. And here’s a major hint: give yourself an assignment so your photographic mission has a reason to exist.

Your photographic mission can be as simple as “I’m shooting portraits for a

photographic series I’m assembling” or “I’m shooting a photo project on the streets of your town.” What you’ll often ﬁnd is an interest

and a willingness of the subject to help you in your endeavor. Also, on your camera’s monitor, show your subject one of the photos you’ve taken of him or her—this may be the ultimate ice-breaker, and it can get your subject

more interested in allowing you to continue shooting.

A Few Lessons on Approaching Subjects

■ Don’t travel in a group. This can seem to your intended subject as though

you’re part of a gang of camera-wielding attackers. Work solo or with as small a group as you can. If you’re out shooting with a spouse or friend, that person can help hold reﬂectors and carry equipment.

■ Make eye contact with your potential subject. We’re all humans here, and the small task of looking someone in the eye shows that you acknowledge him. A smile can go a long way.

■ Show interest in what the subject is doing. We all like to feel that what we do is of interest or has a degree of importance

to someone else. Spend a few minutes watching or listening to your intended subject, and talk about her craft or work. Even if you don’t speak the language, you can visually interpret quite a bit by watching.

■ Ask permission to take his photo. Believe me, after 35 years of creating relationships, however brief, with intended subjects, the times I’ve been turned down for photos is a tiny

Passage to Vietnam: Through the Eyes of Seventy Photographers was the br ainchild of Rick Smolan, who assembled a group of photogr apher s to enter the countr y in 1994. I’d taken a train on a

ten-hour trip from Hanoi to Lao Cai, where a four-wheel-dr ive Soviet-er a jeep drove us on the four-hour, bone-jar r ing trip to the H’Mong village of Sapa. I was wander ing the mountain trails around Sapa when I found this family wor king on one of thousands of r ice paddies dug into the mountainside . 35mm lens, 1/60 second at f4

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percentage of the times I’ve received willing permission to photograph total strangers.

■ Above all, show the subject respect.

Throughout this chapter, I’ll share some examples of photographs I’ve taken around the world and also share the stories of how I got permission.

Revisiting a Memory and Movie Location, Salina, Italy

This is what I love about this business and how a simple piece of gear, the camera, can be an entrée into someone’s life. I have a standing invitation to return to the farm in Salina with my family, and I have new friends in another part of the world. In return, the family had the

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Dur ing one of my Fir stLight Wor kshops, I photogr aphed this group of locals watching the official as well as the impromptu firewor k displays. Teenaged kids of these folks were setting off the pyrotechnics just a few feet away, sending some of the rockets directly over the small crowd. 7–14mm lens, 4 seconds at f4

opportunity to share with a foreigner a bit of their history, and they, too, have a new friend in the United States.

Breaking the Language Barrier

What if language is a barrier to communi- cating with your intended subject? It’s likely that those three years of high school Spanish are a foggy memory, or perhaps your next trip is to a country whose residents speak a language you’ve never had the opportunity to learn. If you have the luxury of a couple of months before you leave on your adventure, try your local community college for a crash-

course in the language of your destination. Or go online and buy a Berlitz (www.berlitz.us) or Pimsleur (www.languagetapes.com) short course in the language. Your standard travel guidebook will help you learn at least a few words of the language: Thanks! May I take

your photo? Has anyone told you your eyes are the color of liquid? (Well, the last one may not go over.)

The point is, if you show the locals of the place you’re visiting that you’ve at least attempted to learn a few phrases, it will go a long way toward making that essential connection.

Once You’re on Location, Now What?

You’ve found your subject and you’ve made the approach. You’ve spent a few minutes talking with her to convey your legitimate interest in photographing her. Now what? How do you get the best photograph possible?

Some year s ago I spent near ly six weeks in the Aeolian Islands of Italy, seven islands just above Sicily, and about as remote as one can get in Europe . Recently I was back in the Aeolians on a shoot for Steve Connatser’s Traveler Overseas magazine . On the island of Salina, we were visiting the home and location where the 1995 movi e Il Postino (The Postman) was shot. The owner s

happened to be there , so I asked if we could photogr aph their son. As typical, dur ing the fir st few minutes, his gaze was on

me . After a while , I became pretty bor ing and he went back to blowing bubbles. Late after noon light and the gaze of his eyes makes this simple picture wor k in a gentle way. 14–54mm lens, 1/60 second at f8

Second-nature familiarity with your equipment is crucial. Part of being successful in photographing people is the comfort range and knowledge of your equipment that you

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In a small church on the island of Sardinia, my assignment was to photogr aph a centur ies-

old festival to bless the fisher men against cr uel weather. This group of kids was awaiting the procession, so I ducked in and hung out a while and found this scene of youngster s shar ing secrets. 17–35mm lens at 17mm, 1/15 second at f2.8, ISO 200

display as you work. If someone has allowed you into her world to share who she is with you, it is your responsibility to know your craft so well that the process of taking photos does not get in the way of the relationship you’ve created. The camera should not be an intrusion in this process.

Understanding exposure, what you want, what your camera is capable of, and what

the situation can accommodate must also be second nature. When the camera is raised to take the picture, all should be ready.

Anticipate the Decisive Moment of Your Scene

Give a situation time to develop. Henri Cartier-Bresson, the great French photo- journalist, said that every situation has its “decisive moment.” That is the moment when everything comes together in the photo.

Whether it’s a guy hanging ﬁsh or kids on the soccer ﬁeld, the responsibility of the

photographer is to capture that peak moment.

I was explaining to one of my students in a photo workshop this theory of the decisive

moment and that we have to take the time to allow a situation to develop. I pointed out

that the photographer has to “work” the scene, exploring it from every angle, seeing both wide and tight, trying to ﬁnd that unique

look and the perfect moment. The next day, the student brought his CompactFlash card in for review. Instead of working the subject by photographing the many ways we’d discussed, this person shot two frames and called it a day, never getting the decisive photo.

This is a common problem with new photographers—not working a situation.

You’ve spent the time searching for the subject material and you’ve made the approach and created a relationship of trust; now stay with it until you feel you’ve really gotten the moment. This may take 3 frames, or it may take 75 frames. This is irrelevant. The bottom line is this: Does this image work? Does it capture that decisive moment?

So how do you capture the decisive moment?

■ First, ﬁnd subject material that interests you. Do a little research if necessary and ﬁgure out why this is a good subject.

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Okay, I’m not a wedding photogr apher. I’d photogr aphed a wedding in the late 1960s and swore I’d never do it again. However, in the past couple of year s, I’ve judged photos for the Wedding Photo Jour nalist Association (WPJA) and I was pretty blown away with the documentar y style that is

so popular, as well as the really high level of photogr aphy. While on the Aeolian island of Lipar i, I chased around this wedding procession as they visited traditional sights where they would stop to

be photogr aphed. I liked the setting sun, the light gently painting the br ide’s train, and the islands of Salina and Filicudi in the background. 7–14mm lens, 1/30 second at f5.6

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■ Next, create a story line for your assignment. This could be portraits of Spain or a day at the soccer match.

■ Then approach the situation, identify the potential subjects, and repeat the process described previously: make eye contact, state your mission, and express interest in what the subject is doing.

■ Give it time. Stay with the subject and really watch for the small gesture he makes or the laugh between two friends sharing a story. That will be the moment that produces a nice image. Stay with it until your presence is no longer alien. You want to disappear like a wallﬂower so the camera’s presence is not driving the situation.

■ Don’t be hesitant to shoot multiple frames of a situation or person. One or two frames may not get that moment, and by working on getting that moment you’ll become more proﬁcient in the craft.

■ I can’t emphasize enough that you must be technically proﬁcient and know your equipment like the back of your hand. Also, stay with your subject material until you’ve exhausted every possible way to see it. I don’t want to sound like a

broken record, but the last sentence bears repeating. Pushing yourself here is what will make you grow as a photographer.

Don’t Overstay Your Welcome

Remember that you need to know when it is time to back out or leave. Many situations call

for sensitivity. In some countries, women do not want attention called to themselves. That street vendor you are photographing may not want you in his face for too long. Learn how to read signals from your subjects, and make a graceful exit.

Photographing Children

Children are an easy subject and such great material. Kids are naturals when it comes to posing, and without much exception they love having their photos taken. Rarely do you ﬁnd a kid who is self-conscious in front of a photographer, and most will willingly strut, mug, and perform for the camera. However, some hard-and-fast rules must be addressed.

First and foremost, always ask permission from a parent or guardian before you shoot.

This is not always easy, as the parents may not be around, but if a parent isn’t around, you have to weigh whether the photo is worth possible police involvement. This is an unfortunate truth that must be adhered to.

Once you have obtained permission, and you’ve explained why you’d like to photograph this person’s child, the kids will usually go back to doing what drew your eye to them in the ﬁrst place. Again, give this situation time to develop.

I’ve always found with children that the ﬁrst few minutes of the process involves their mugging and acting for the camera. The trick here is either to put your camera down when they ﬁght/mug/act up for the camera or turn it in other directions. This will quickly get the

While cover ing the war in El Salvador in the ear ly 1980s, I photogr aphed this young gir l in a Hondur an refugee camp. This photo was par t of a 13-picture ser ies for which I won the Pulitzer Pr ize . The stor y was ver y somber

and dar k, and I wanted to end the ser ies on an upbeat note . I’d seen this shy little gir l when we fir st ar r ived in the camp the previous evening. The next mor ning I made my way through the camp until I found her family’s tent. I sat for a while without shooting, so she’d become used to my presence . Speaking in the little Spanish I knew, I talked

to her as I moved closer, kneeling down to her level, and took just a couple of fr ames. I wanted the explosion

of the sun’s r ays, so I moved the camer a up and down until I found the effect that looked best. 24mm lens, 1/60 second at f2.8

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idea across that this silliness is not what you are trying to shoot. Again, give the situation time to become natural.

Be prepared to walk away from the scene you’re trying to capture, a short distance or altogether, if it gets out of hand. Like a news event, you do not want your presence and camera to be what drives the situation.

The best photos will happen when the kids have gotten bored with your presence and go back to doing what attracted you in the ﬁrst

place. This takes time and patience on your part and can be worth the extra eﬀort.

A Few Rules and Tips Regarding Photographing Children

■ Get permission. In parts of Europe, it is actually illegal to photograph kids in a school, so be aware of local regulations. Look for the chamber of commerce in the area you’re visiting and see if it can help with this important aspect. You can also check with the local school.

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Often the photogr apher does not have to include the face to create a meaningful image . I photogr aphed this little gir l as she was leaving an ice cream store on the Italian island of Panarea. I think this is a simple and successful image , her hand on the door sill being that cr itical moment from which many photos will benefit. 12–60mm lens, 1/60 second at f4

■ Get down to the kids’ level. Too many pictures of children are shot from the adult eye level, which creates a superior feeling. When you kneel down to shoot your photo, you are creating a feeling of being on the children’s level. You’ll also ﬁnd that kids react to you more readily if you’re willing to kneel down and shoot from that level.

■ The beauty of digital is being able to show the child (and the parents) his own photo. This will also help him understand what you are trying to photograph.

■ If a person has gone out of her way for you, be sure to send a print to her. Too often, photographers walk away from a

session and never send prints, even when someone has gone to extra eﬀort.

■ Above all, remember to give it time and work the situation. Don’t be content with taking a couple of frames and departing. This is a craft that requires time.

■ Some of you sharp-eyed readers will have noticed that many of my people photos were shot at a relatively slow shutter speed, the lens near wide open. I do this, as I really like to work a subject in late- day light, and at lower ISOs. Why? Softer light and controlling the depth of ﬁeld (wider open allows the photographer to select the “zone of focus,” allowing the background to gently drop out of focus).

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Along the same line of the photo of the little gir l in the doorway,

often by not including

the face of the subject, the photogr apher

can create a sense of myster y and intr igue

that would not exist if the subject were facing the camer a. In a small village outside of Agr a

in India, I photogr aphed this young woman who had been picking cor n in this field as she shielded her face from the sun.

17–35mm lens, 1/125 second at f5.6

Posing Your Subject

Posing is an issue in all photos of people. Do you want the photo to look natural or staged? One is not better than the other and both can work beautifully.

I wanted the Custer image to look as though it was really the general at Last Stand Hill and decided on a late afternoon session so we could use the beautiful light on the gently rolling hills of Little Bighorn. I had Steve stand in the grassland and had my assistant (this time, my wife) hold a gold and silver reﬂector (more about these in the equipment and lighting chapters, Chapters 2 and 4) to ﬁll in some of the shadows on the shadowed side of Steve’s body. This is a simple trick used by photographers, but it can enhance a photo by eliminating some of the hard light caused by direct sunlight.

A postscript: When I called Steve to obtain a release to use his photo in this book, I hadn’t spoken to him since the picture was made several years ago. I tracked him down in Monroe, Michigan, where he had bought the house George Custer once lived in. His wife,

Sandy, answered the phone and I explained that I needed Steve to sign a release. She said there should be no problem and asked if she could tell me a story. When she was single, Sandy had been ﬂying home from a vacation. Prior to the ﬂight, she had said a little prayer that a sign be given to her as to who her life mate might be. She opened up the American Way magazine during her ﬂight to the page where this photo of Steve appeared. There and then she knew he was that person. Kinda nice, huh?

Whether you’re photographing on assignment or for friends, start thinking of

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The re-creation of the battle of Little Bighor n occur s twice a year—once by the Hardin,

Montana, Chamber of Commerce and again by the Crow Nation. They tell a slightly different stor y, but both feature Gener al Geor ge Ar mstrong Custer as one of the key figures. As a

contr ibuting editor for American Way , I was assigned a stor y to photogr aph both these events.

An obvious necessity for the stor y was a photo of Gener al Custer, who was admir ably and

believably por trayed by actor Steve Alexander. I’d contacted Steve and asked if we could take his photo out on the hill where Custer had died. 80mm lens, 1/30 second at f2.8, 50 ISO

diﬀerent ways of posing your subjects even while you’re shooting the initial photos.

Think of these as warm-ups. The subject may be a bit nervous at ﬁrst, and this is a great opportunity for her to become comfortable and for you to have the time to think of other ways to pose her.

Don’t be static—move in and step back. Fill the viewﬁnder with the person, and then

move back so the environment is incorporated. Don’t only center the person in the viewﬁnder; try placing her oﬀ to one side in some frames. The viewﬁnder is your canvas, so make certain that everything going on in the frame is relevant to the image.

The entire time you’re shooting, try talking to the subject—even stupid jokes can help relax the situation. Or you could

impersonate the actor David Hemmings from Blow-Up or Austin Powers and get into the “Yeah baby…” talk. (Probably better not to, though—she may confuse you with Austin Powers.)

Maintaining eye contact is important as well. This will make your subject more

comfortable and create a feeling of conﬁdence. And the conﬁdence you exude will be reﬂected in the trust the subject will give you, resulting in better photos.

Choosing Equipment to

Get the Best Shot

Within our camera bags we carry various lenses for diﬀerent looks and eﬀects. Wide (short) lenses and telephoto (long) have their own look, wide lenses exaggerating

perspectives and telephoto lenses compressing the ﬁeld of view. Photographing people can call on all the tools in your bag.

Head-and-shoulder portraits are extremely direct and force the viewer to look directly at the subject. A medium to long telephoto is often the lens of choice, ranging from 85mm to 200mm. This medium length does not compress the subject too much, which would have the tendency to ﬂatten someone’s face out of proportion.

Photographing for the book A Day in the Life of the United States Armed Forces, I was on a mountain in the rainforest to the east

of Hanoi, in Vietnam. I was photographing Joint Task Force–Full Accounting, a long- term project involving all branches of the US

military to collect the remains of US service people lost in World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War. A former North Vietnamese soldier

had discovered the remains of a US Navy

A-6 Intruder aircraft on the hillside where it had crashed in 1972. The carrier-based plane had been on a mission near Hanoi and was heading back to the Gulf of Tonkin.

The photo I took of this soldier was shot with an 85mm f1.4 lens, wide open. I wanted the background to be out of focus as well as the sides of his head. The desired eﬀect was to build the photo around his eyes, with the very select focus created by the extremely shallow depth of ﬁeld of this fast, short telephoto lens.

Ly Thien fought with the Viet Cong. I shot this with an 85mm f1.4 lens, wide open,

to create a plane of interest of the ver y shallow depth of field this lens produces when shot at maximum aper ture .

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Sometimes a photo of a person does not have to be literal—that is, we do not always have to see the face of the person or people in the photo to get a feeling for their

character. Also, by not including the face, the photographer can create an air of mystery about the photo.

You can also use diﬀerent types of light to emphasize speciﬁc components of an image you’re trying to capture.

Using Strobe Lighting with the Ambient Light

Colorado had been through several continuous years of a drought, and the assignment for TIME for Kids magazine was to shoot a cover using this youngster as my subject. Shooting in the harsh midday light in the drought- stricken eastern plains of Colorado, I wanted to create a fairly stark lighting eﬀect. I used

a single “soft box” with a strobe inside it as my main light. This is fairly common, mixing

available light (the sunlight) and artiﬁcial light. As you can see, the eﬀect is one of a balanced and even light across the subject, making

the viewer respond to the photo and not the lighting.

Environmental Portraits

Many assignments for TIME call for an environmental portrait. This is a photo that will capture the essence of the subject as well as telling the viewer something about that person’s environment or world.

Environmental portraits are generally shot with the subject in the near foreground, while the background contains elements relating to the subject. Often shot with a wide-angle lens, these added elements in the background can contain a powerful narrative about the person.

The nice thing about environmental photos is that they can be accomplished with a minimum amount of equipment and hassle.

Not a per son, but this dog in the back of an ATV was waiting for his Canadian cowboy owner to retur n from gather ing hor ses on the Ya

Ha Tinda Ranch in the Canadian Rockies. I really liked the softness

of the light, the ear s askew on the dog, and the two cowboys r iding up in the background. My old fr iend,

for mer National Geographic photo

editor Ber t Fox, has always said that ever ything in the fr ame either wor ks for the image , or against it—there is no middle ground. 7–14mm lens at

9mm, 1/4 second at f4, ISO 200

I’ll really date myself here . I

used to photogr aph rock and roll, r anging from Jimi Hendr ix to Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin

to Willie Nelson—the files are deep. In 1969 I photogr aphed Led Zeppelin at the Texas

Inter national Pop Festival, dur ing the band’s fir st Amer ican tour.

85mm lens, 1/125 second at f1.8

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Try using a wide to normal length lens and a strobe and/or reﬂector to add a slight amount of light on the subject, helping to create a little more visual interest. Place your photo subject thoughtfully—for example, your neighbor in the foreground with his Harley-Davidson in the near background. The strobe will work on- camera for this, or you can use an extension cord for the strobe so the light it casts will not be so ﬂat. Moving the light slightly out and above the camera will create more interesting shadows. For the next step up in complexity, try using a photographic umbrella or your own bumbershoot with white paper or aluminum foil placed inside the dome. Pointing the strobe into the umbrella will create a softer and less obtrusive light.

A reﬂector can also work nicely in an environmental scenario, but it can cause a subject to squint if the light is too bright. I’ve almost fried eggs with the amount of energy bounced oﬀ of a silver reﬂector on a bright day, so be kind to your subject! A combination of the two works very well,

placing the strobe as the key light—lighting the main part of the subject’s face—and using the light bounced oﬀ the reﬂector to ﬁll shadows on the side of the head.

Exposure in this scenario would be for the general scene in the background. Make the exposure using no additional lighting to ascertain the correct exposure for the

background, and then introduce the lighting in

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TIME for Kids was doing a stor y on the drought in the Amer ican West and gave me the assignment to

photogr aph this young man and his dad and brother on some of their sun-parched acreage . I shot this with a

strobe bounced in an umbrella, along with a reflector

just off to the side to fill in the shadows on the side of his face . 80mm lens, 1/250 second at f8.5

the foreground. This really is building a photo, the monitor on the digital camera being the perfect place to check the accuracy of each step.

Photographing People in Action

Combining available light and on-camera ﬂash on the Futaleufú River in Patagonian Chile made this image work. The assignment was for Steve Connatser’s Traveler Overseas magazine as part of a story on this world-class whitewater river.

With the shutter speed set to 1/15 of a second, I set the aperture to the correct

exposure to get movement in the background and to create a sense of speed. I had the camera and on-camera ﬂash in an ewa-marine bag, which made it waterproof. The strobe was set on TTL exposure, about two-thirds of a stop underexposed. This is personal preference: I like the ﬂash ﬁll slightly understated. I think this makes for a more believable photo.

Light is what this business is all about, and the photographer decides what form of light he or she will use in creating a portrait. As simple as a light ray pouring through a window creating a feeling of mystery, to a fully controlled environment with multiple lights, the choices are as great as the potential.

Photographing people is such a natural and wonderful part of photography, and using some of the simple tricks discussed here will give your photographs more power and visual interest. A comfort level with your approach and with your equipment skill will give you that much more control over the ﬁnished photo.

Lighting a Portrait

Find your willing subject, someone who is ready to put up with a bit of an extended shooting session. Find a location that has an interesting background, perhaps a ﬂowerbed in your backyard or a neighborhood park.

Have a portable ﬂash handy and something to bounce the light into—this could be a white piece of art board, say

a minimum of 20 inches square, or a photographic umbrella. You can create a

makeshift photo umbrella with a normal umbrella lined with some aluminum or gold- colored foil. A reﬂector is a great tool to have in your bag; these are discussed in some detail in Chapter 4.

Bring your subject close to the camera with his back to the sunlight and frame the photo so it makes a simple composition, such as the person in the foreground oﬀ to one side of the frame and the garden in the background. Take a meter reading on the

background; this will be your main exposure. I usually underexpose the background one-third to two-thirds of a stop.

The ﬂash can be set to TTL, Auto, or Manual—your choice. Manual exposure will give you the most consistent results and the output can be controlled exactly in this mode. But the accuracy of today’s TTL exposure systems is so good, you can depend on it.

Shoot a test exposure with the strobe pointed and bounced into the umbrella or card. The light bouncing oﬀ of the reﬂective surface is dispersed over a greater area, creating a softer eﬀect. Using the ﬂash pointed directly at the subject will create a very harsh light.

When the exposure looks good, have your assistant hold the reﬂector just out of the frame so it reﬂects some of the light from the strobe onto the side of the face that is most heavily shadowed. Generally, I like to have the reﬂector just out of range of the viewﬁnder as it is more eﬃcient in bouncing light in to soften the shadows the closer it is to the subject.

In this process, the ﬂash is your key light and the reﬂector is providing ﬁll light, which is not as powerful as the main light, but just enough to bring up the light levels in the shadowed area.

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Riding backward in the bow of a r aft through Class 5

whitewater provided the

“point-of-view” photo of this paddler being doused by a

wave . Facing the back of the r aft, I at least didn’t have to

wor r y about what was coming! Camer a: Olympus 8080 in an Olympus water proof housing. 1/15 second at f11 with a fill

flash set to two-thirds of a stop underexposure