portrait photography

What makes a portrait photograph good? It's an issue that I debate every so often when I look at my own photos or hear people talk about theirs. As much as I enjoy taking pictures of people, when is the end product a success? If it flatters them, is that the goal or is it a picture that says something more than the sum of its parts?

Just back from a trip where I had the opportunity to start learning to canoe (which I loved), I saw a lot of pictures of others and myself (many of which I didn't like). Were any of those of me what others see? Perhaps in the end, all photographs are illusions.

We see something, take a photo, look at it later, and think the light was better, the image sharper, and what the heck is that off in the corner! What are we hoping the photo will say? Perhaps that it recreates an image we stored in our minds. I think we often hope to share a moment or experience with others, or let them see themselves as we see them and so we take a picture. Except from where did that expression come and was the light really on the nose that way?

The interesting aspect of being in a human body is we never see ourselves-- except for those who do out of body travel. The rest of us see parts of ourselves. There are the reflections in mirrors, cameras, or words others use to tell us what they see. (What we tell others we see in them is important and we should be careful what words we use as often people (especially children) believe those words more than photos or mirrored reflections.)

When I am taking photos of others or looking at those of myself, I have two phrases for the ones that really come out. One is the money shot. Its meaning is obvious and not hard to define. It's the image a professional photographer might have spent all day getting and knows he can sell. The other is the 'Zen' shot. This is when the photo is so in the moment that there is no need to interpret it nor label it.

There are probably many ways to define what a 'Zen moment' is, but my favorite is when you perceive the moment, feel it totally and it's not damaged or even enhanced by any of your usual filters or expectations. It is what it is and you feel it deep in your soul. Zen photos, although they always fall short, attempt to capture that feeling.

Those 'ultimate' photographs were usually sandwiched between a lot of 'so-so' shots. This is why I love digital where I don't have to think twice about shooting the same subject from several angles or compositions.

Zen photos are not about being flattering-- although they can be. In the first one, the woman is swimming in a large expanse of water (happens to be a mountain lake). Her hair is graying but her smile is at peace. You can tell she's in her element. I like that kind of image of old women-- active, experiencing life. The grebe didn't know he/she was in a perfect reflection; but of the 5 photos of grebes, it's the only one that was. And the bald eagle probably was near its nest as the pair flew to this tree regularly, lingering on the highest branches to survey their kingdom. There are as many as four dozen pairs that nest around this lake. In the winter about a thousand, migrating bald eagles make this area their home.

(All images taken July 6-7, 2007 in Oregon at Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge-- a myriad network of marshes and habitats stretching into California and protected originally by Teddy Roosevelt. Conflict over water in this basin was a big issue several years ago as the Bush administration apparently have never seen a wildlife refuge they liked. More photos of the lake and marshes to come.)