©Bryan Formhals
I fear portraiture more than any other type of photography, except perhaps for the type where bombs, guns and insurgents are involved. That aside, if you’re working in the fine art or documentary territory I can’t really think of anything more confounding, perplex and complicated than portraiture. If you’re shooting candidly it’s all about instincts, reacting, anticipating, getting lucky, failing and shooting a shitload. Ok, that’s simplistic too, but something like that. If you’re shooting landscapes it’s really about wandering and making the shapes work out. And of course, no matter what, it always helps to attempt to work at the highest level and have an idea of the type of photographs you want to live with.
With portraiture, there’s no escaping, no ignoring, no hiding and waiting for something to happen. It’s you and the subject. And you better know what you’re doing otherwise you’re going to fuck up the dynamic. An uncertain photographer staring at you with a camera can be incredibly uncomfortable. As if standing or sitting for a portrait isn’t uncomfortable enough. So yeah, it’s challenging and there’s so much more than the simple act of photographing involved. It’s about an ephemeral relationship.