In his photography masterclass, Joel Meyerowitz was waxing poetic about saying YES to the photograph, and motherf*cker, I heard that and felt it in my core.
Leave any hesitations and what-ifs at the door. Just say yes and take a photograph. This philosophy found me in a posh hotel at the 2022 Filmfare Awards with singer/songwriter, Dhee.
This discontinued flash (Fujifilm EF-X20) and trigger cable came in clutch. Hotel suites can feel spacious, but once you throw talent, her mum, five makeup artists, a photographer, and his assistant into the mix. It suddenly feels tighter than a ladies' night at the hottest dive bar in New York. How do you stay creative and get the shot in this setting?
Let me walk you through my thought process across 13 shots.
Land some establishing shots of things around our subject to flesh out the day's story. Some easy reps to warm up the shutter.
Look for details that foreshadow something later.
Get up close and low to easily put your subject in a position of power. In this case, we have this overt juxtaposition of this strong look with a delicate beauty brush.
The ol' frame within a frame. Our subject is on the other side of a ring light, with two makeup artists adding some layers to the image.
Drop the shutter speed to a third of a second and twist the camera like the lid off a cold pickle jar. The result is an image that conveys speed, chaos, and motion.
Get wide, step back as far as you can, and capture a candid moment of everything happening.
Keep playing with distance and even obstruct the viewer in a way that sparks curiosity.
That flash cable you saw earlier? Stretch that shit behind your subject, angle the camera high, and fire down for this dramatic, voyeuristic shot.
Pay attention! You never know when an interesting frame will present itself, like this situation here. Aperture at F8.0 and fire the flash at a high enough power to make sure we get all the details we need.
Have some fun with composition. In this case, a detail shot where we shove the point of focus to one side of the frame.
How about a medium shot with the eyes out of the frame and a flash above our sub-subject for some drama? Vary the portraits.
Do you need to land perfect focus for a good shot? Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes it's more important to capture a mood.
Full power on the flash and a super narrow aperture to blackout even the most chaotic background.
So now you have an idea of what I was feeling while I captured those images. Not thinking, but feeling.
This assignment came with one day's notice: the chance to capture intimate portraits of a massively talented artist at India's most prestigious film awards. Ready or not, you just gotta say yes.
When you make a habit of saying yes and doing so regularly, photography becomes even more instinctual, where you feel it more than you see it.
It's the thousands of times of saying yes to the photograph before this moment that led to this assignment is a success for us. So yeah, if there's any takeaway this week, it's to go out and say yes to the fucking photograph. Take those pictures and make Joel happy.
This article was originally shared on the Church & Street Foto Club, a bi-monthly publication around street photography, travel, self-discovery, and of course, cameras. Visit www.churchxstreet.com and get a new story in your inbox every other week for free.
