Doing Something Different
“I hate taking posed photos” - my usual retort to “why not do portraits?” I now submit for my consideration that perhaps preferring one style of photography does not equal hating the other. If this was the hypothesis at the start of the research paper, then what follows is hopefully my research and dissertation.
Deciding to take a request from a friend to do a graduation shoot was eye-opening. As usual, I initially played down my ability to capture good photos with excuses such as “yeah the weather is bad so it won’t come out great anyway” or “I usually don’t do portraits so don’t expect much”. I wasn’t necessarily conceding to taking poor photos. It was likely more of an anxious move that allowed me to temper expectations.
After taking half an hour to look into graduation poses and potential backgrounds, I was ready to go. One of the first shoot locations was particularly in-demand as five other graduating students waited in line with their families. As I waited, I began to scan the area for other interesting settings. The weather was gloomy but to my left was a group of six friends excitedly laughing and throwing up hand signs that I can only imagine are relics of an inside joke from a memory they shared. To my right was an Indian family as close to tears as can be while they stared in awe at their daughter who was fully dressed in graduation regalia. And then it hit me.
Graduation is such a major life milestone for many and inherent in the smiles and tears are memories and stories of the journey taken to get there. I previously saw portrait shoots such as this as somewhat fake in contrast to my preferred style of capturing the world around me as it exists. But, as photo documenters, we wield a massive responsibility to preserve and communicate these stories along with their many emotions. In fact, when thought of that way, these photos could scarcely be more “real”.
Armed with this new revelation, I felt inspired to lean into the moment with Anita. I was better able to share in her joy and capture the impact of the moment. It reminded me of a quote I once read: “Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.” I am not surprised that I ended up enjoying this process. I have, after all, always considered myself a bit of an empath. I am more shocked that I didn’t come to this realization sooner.
I wouldn’t say that I have now found my photographic calling in graduation or “big-life-moment” photography. Rather, I am excited to know that there are potentially more genres of this hobby that I can enjoy. As fate would have it, I had to do a similar graduation shoot for my brother a month later and this time I jumped at it without any caveats or self-undermining. When he asked, it was simply “yes” and “I got you!” Photos from that particular escapade follow.
