The challenge of creating great portraits

Hi there,

thanks for taking your time to read what's on my mind. 

Today will be a great day. Around noon an important photo shooting will take place in my studio in Niederhasli. The cover shoot for a famous Swiss writer's new book that is due to be published in spring 2022.

I often wonder - while preparing a shooting - how to get through to the inner self of a person. Portrait photography isn't that simple. It's not just to take pictures of another person. Sometimes you only get a couple of minutes time to get the right shot of somebody you probably have never met before. There isn't a second chance. Be prepared to capture the right moment. 

On the other hand, if you know the person very well, it can be very, very difficult. I remember that I arranged for a portrait session with my parents. Many years ago. They must have been in there 80's. In that particular period of mine I was keen on working with my large format camera, a huge Sinar P2 (the Rolls Royce of old school large format photography), shooting on 8x10" film. My mum liked the idea from the beginning but my dad felt somehow skeptical. Hidden underneath this thick black fabric must have been scary for my parents but I tried everything to take their fear away and make them feel confortable. Times were different then - I took two frames of each of them.

Months later these portraits had been shown at the largest photographic exhibition in Switzerland, simply called Photo. I was very proud to invite my parents to the vernissage, the grand opening gala. As soon as my mother has started to watch the photographs, little tears run down her cheeks although her eyes were filled with joy. Whereas my dad simply showed me his disappointment about the result. He was not only disappointed but for more - he was getting angry in a way I have not known until then.

 

Their reactions were very emotional. Both came quite unexpectedly for me.

We when met sometime later we got together and hat a drink while we were discussing their reactions at this exhibition. My mum was simply overwhelmed with joy and happiness. She said, that never ever "her inner self had been captured that way and put on a table in front of her". She was very happy and very proud of my work. With very sad eyes my dad tried to express his feelings about this portrait of him: "I am a very positive person, a happy man, always a laughter on my face. How could you capture such a sad expression on my face? And how dare you to show this in public?" 

It was a matter of perception. The way a person seems her face in a mirror is different from the perception of another person face to face. The lesson learned? I guess the portrait of my father was not that bad - I succeeded in getting to his very inner part - he just didn't like this happening.

Back to today's shooting. I do know this writer all my life as we were neighborhood kids, have a century from now. It will probably be a big challenge to capture the right moment today ...