The anti-social art

I heard someone describe photography the other day as being a fundamentally anti-social activity. They were pointing out how the camera itself can isolate you from the subject of your pictures and how photographers tend to be able to hide themselves behind it. I think there’s probably a degree of truth to that.

In some fields of work, like street photography, this is to your advantage. But in the case of portraiture that description raises a good point about a bad practice.

In portrait photography the best results tend to arise when a bond is struck between subject and photographer. Possessing an element of charisma helps but that’s something you’ve either got or you haven’t. What you can control, though, is your equipment. Getting your technological ducks in a row lets you forget about the gear and focus on the subject. And perhaps most critical is lighting.

A few months back I bought into the Profoto system after years working with another brand. It’s certainly renowned for its price-tag which can understandably turn many people off. But try it, or its one or two comparable brands, and you won’t want to give it back.

It feels as though it was built for the military. In fact I don’t doubt you could parachute a Profoto kit in to a shoot, it’s that robust. Lesser lights almost feel disposable in comparison.

But beside the fact that it lasts you forever, its beauty is in its consistency. You can set it and forget it, in the knowledge that each and every time it pops it will give you a consistent exposure and colour temperature. It also means seldom do you miss a fleeting moment because your flash-head hadn’t recharged in time.

The greatest benefit though is that when you can be sufficiently confident with your light that you don’t have to constantly check on it, you can begin to step out from behind the camera and connect with your subject instead.