We asked a few of your favorite photography instructors about their preferences in lens use. Here’s what they had to say:
“I should choose some cool, funky fisheye, but my students would know I was lying. At the risk of sounding ordinary and old fashioned, I will have to admit that I love the fixed, light-weight, small, inexpensive, plastic (yes, plastic!) 50 mm 1.8 lens. I always have this lens either on the camera or in my camera bag for many reasons: because it doesn’t hurt my lower back, because it is so sharp, because for very little cost I have a very fast, low light lens, because if I drop it in the ocean I can replace it for only $120, and because if I want to get closer to my subject, it forces me to WALK closer to my subject (as I tell my students, “Zoom with your feet!). I bought my first one about 15 years ago to train myself to move around when photographing, and I never did go back to zoom lenses. This lens proves that a photographer doesn’t need all the fancy equipment, but can do just fine with a decent camera body and couple simple, high quality lenses.”
“I switch lenses depending on the subject I photograph but my nifty 50 F1.4 is my staple for sure. From human eye view I go into wide world because I often shoot landscapes and wide allows me to capture lots of information about a place. Plus I like the perspective distortion that wide angle lenses allow. I enjoy my 85mm F1.8 for capturing portraits. The shallow depth of field with a lower F-stop allows me to concentrate on one part of a busy scene.”
“My favorite lens is the wonderful Canon EF Zoom lens – 24 mm – 105 mm – F/4.0. (L series). It is excellent quality–to die for and very versatile–but I really want (in addition) the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM- stellar quality, awesome FAST portrait lens.”
What Is a Body of Work?
The mere idea may sound overwhelming to an emerging photographer, but each individual shot, print, or concept adds to the sum total of the overarching idea of a body of work. One can easily identify Ansel Adams’ majestic and exquisite tonal landscapes, Annie Liebowitz’s high glitz commercial approach to image-making, or Avedon’s unmistakable portraits – typically frontal views of people, either full body or head, often black and white, and shot against a plain background.
For each of these photographers, there is an undeniable unity of both theme and vision. This unity is what defines a “body of work.” These artists have created a recognizable style, voice, and message.
Why Is It Important to Create a Body of Work?
Creating a consistent presentation of images provides structure for the photographer to explore their ideas and techniques. Publications and exhibitors such as museums and galleries require 15-20 images that can be clearly identified as belonging together under one theme and aesthetic. On the other hand, it’s perfectly possible to earn a living without ever creating anything that might be formally recognizable as a body of work. The caveat is to remain honest to your vision.
Jorg Colberg, In his interview with photographer Brian Ulrich, writes about what he’s looking for in a photographic body of work: “…something that turns me into a different person, something that I need to come back to, something that when I come back to it looks and feels at least slightly different even though it’s the same images. I believe such photography comes from a photographer who has undergone a transformation of her/himself. In part, that is why some projects take a long time to do: It’s not just that taking the photographs takes time, it’s also that their maker evolves along with the images.”
Even naysayers to Ulrich’s school of thought agree about the merits of developing a body of work. Dr. Martin Irvine of Irvine Contemporary states that “Whether intuitively or intentionally, some photographers develop a body of work as an argument about a way to work, a way to see and represent things. Photographers like Jeff Wall are very explicit about the kind of argument they want to make; others work more intuitively but know they are engaging with larger questions and debates … a good photographic work, like any art form, will indicate its position in a larger dialog of what’s been done before and going on now. Context is always where meaning happens.”
Developing your voice as a photographer and staying true to it demonstrates what issues/topics/themes you are passionate about and your unique viewpoint. It also attests to the commitment to your practice; the time you took for careful reflection and dedication to your subject matter.
How Can You Create a Body of Work?
There are three important qualities you will need: will (faith + ambition), dedication, and opportunity (you must create opportunities). Figure out your strengths, and what you are passionate about. Start exploring that subject. Keep notes in a virtual or paper sketchbook and research your subject matter—online, in books, images, etc. Hang up your work and step back to look at it to see what “threads” you can connect that spark your interest. Ask others what underlying theme they see in your work. You may not agree with what they might have to say, but revisit their viewpoints to see if your own views have changed. Last, but not least, don’t underestimate the importance of presentation. Printing quality, image size, color versus black and white; these elements should all be considered when showing your work to prospective audiences such as gallerists, clients, portfolio reviews and more.
Going to portfolio reviews are a great way to get feedback and ideas that can help you formulate your vision. Practice articulating what your work is about, so that you can clearly explain it to your audience.
Portfolio Review Pointers
• Your portfolio should be a complete body of work with a solid vision (15-20 prints). Do bring alternate portfolios and examples of other work if you want, but your primary presentation should be a complete body.
• Package your portfolio such that you can carry it, open it, show it, and put it away with minimum fuss. Simple clamshell portfolio boxes are one perennial festival favorite.
• Research the reviewers as best you can before you show up at the portfolio reviews, and honestly assess which reviewers are the best fits for your work (the internet can be a valuable tool for this).
• Bring leave-behinds for the reviewers; make sure that it includes all of your contact information. Bring plenty of extras as you will probably want to give some to your fellow photographers as well.
• Take notes after your reviews or use a tape recorder during. Follow up with reviewers when you return home. Truly, this is important—follow up!
Portraiture has a long and varied history throughout the centuries and in a variety of mediums. Trends, movements and societal preferences have helped to determine each artist’s aesthetic rendering of the human form. So, just what makes a great portrait and what are the mechanics behind authoring one? And what are the inexplicable qualities that you need in order to create a good portrait?
Well-known portraiture photographer Timothy Archibald, notes the elusive nature of portraiture in the blog, Exposure Compensation: “Trying to really pinpoint what makes a great portrait is almost like trying to figure out why it feels good when someone smiles at you or why it is disturbing when someone yells at you.” As an example of great work, he references the work of photographer Judith Joy Ross. In Ross’s work, he says, “There is no filter, the viewer isn’t really aware of all the mechanical decisions that the photographer is making, it is simply a direct transference if emotion and information, going directly from the subject to the brain of the viewer. The photographer somehow was simply a conduit for this information to travel through.” Photography critic and blogger Jörg Colberg noted this conduit of creation when he interviewed Dutch portrait photographer, Helen Van Meene about her stunning work, “A portrait comes into being via the interaction between the photographer and the subject.”
I would consider myself a fine art portraitist. My most recent project is entitled Gentlemen’s Paintings (see video of the shoot below). It was a big step for me in terms of how I approached the people I wanted to include in this series (such as placing an ad in CraigsList) and actually working with people who were not in my family (I am however, still working on an ongoing series called Sutures: Stories with Seams, that mostly features family and friends).
Essentially, if you consider the following elements, learn the technical stuff (to get the look you want) and practice, practice, practice—you will put your subjects at ease and get a great portrait.
The following items are important points that I consider on my shoots (in no particular order):
Let your personality shine through—learn to feel comfortable in your own skin! Engage in conversation with your subject. Your confidence will make your subject feel at ease.
Guidance—Subjects often want to be directed and feel more confident when the photographer shares their intentions and expectations of how they want the subject to look, act, or what direction to look.
Do your research—get to know something about your subjects. I think the best thing to do is meet them without your camera—have a coffee and get to know each other a little bit.
Intentionality—Be clear to yourself what your project is about or what you want to achieve with your portrait, e.g., consider your audience – is your portrait for a magazine, gallery, commission, personal project, etc.?
Access—How are you connected (if at all) to your subject? Be wary of objectifying your subject—that is, photographing “the other.” Subjects feel most at ease if you are from their “community.” For example, I am the same demographic and grapple with similar issues as my subjects from the Gentlemen’s Paintings project.
Time—Spend time on your shoots; don’t rush your subject or your own process. Allow for plenty of time, and prepare your subjects by letting them know how long you expect to take. The Gentlemen’s Paintings project took about a year to complete. Each of the twenty-one portraits lasted about one and a half hours, and each woman came dressed in what they wanted to wear and were ready to be photographed (so that saved some time!)
(On the) Set and Shoot—be prepared for the shoot with bottled water for your subjects, release forms, know your equipment (and prepare it in advance e.g., charged batteries, extra memory cards, etc.) and know the ins and out of your location. Make sure the time of day works with your intentioned lighting situation. It’s super great to have an assistant (or two!) so you can be free to engage with your subject and not worry about the equipment.
Happy shooting, and don’t forget to check out one of the photography classes in Winter.
Rebecca Webb, BFA from Tufts University. Her expertise is in fine art photography and film production, having studied with photographers Sage Sohier, Peter Laytin and Shelby Lee Adams while doing graduate work at Harvard University. Her work is exhibited in galleries in Boston, New York City and various museums nation-wide. By day, Rebecca is the ArtPower! Film Curator at UC San Diego. She is teaching Digital Camera Basics at UC San Diego Extension in Winter 2012, as well as a variety interesting and unique portraiture courses throughout the year.
