What kind of story are you telling as a photographer? Please watch the above video and share your thoughts below in the comments.
This experiment was recently posted and I wanted to create some dialogue and discuss how we can grow and learn. The pictures we create have the opportunity to share with the world amazing stories.
This video had several photographers shoot one subject. Each photographer was given 10 minutes and a story about who their subject was. Their goal was to create a portrait of the man they were taking a picture of. What the photographers didn’t know is that each photographer was given a different story about who this man indeed was. In the end, the portraits created each told a different and beautiful story.
In watching this video a few thoughts came to mind regarding the process. They (the photographers) were doing what good photographers do and tell a story. I think it’s a teaching moment that having different outcomes is a good thing. The photographers that were featured here did what I hope all photographers do when telling a story. One photographer even asked the subject what he was looking for and wanted to convey in his portrait.
I feel this video shows the responsibility photographers have. We have much more power than we feel and often utlize. It’s up to us to tell that story and bring it to life. I would have loved to have seen all the photographers told the same story to prove that even with the same story we would have seen a different portrait from each photographer. I feel that would have made a stronger point to show how important it is to choose a photographer based on who you are as a person and how you connect with that photographer. It would also show that as artists we all have our unique way of telling stories.
In the end, each image had such a different feeling, a different meaning and a different story. It’s a beautiful resource and responsibility we have as photographers. When we tell a story, everyone wins.
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I enjoyed the video. Judging people by what you are told about them can be said for every day life. I think a photographer would need to be unbiased. I haven’t reached that point yet. I do remember seeing wedding photos and all the pictures of the groom were awful. Later found out the professional photographer dated the groom at one stage.
Fabulous video – very interesting experiment. Would be wonderful to say these quick assumptions on the subject were due to the 10 minute time constraint they had with him yet sadly its so indicative of life.
A very creative experiment–would have liked to have more time to study the shots that were selected—the impressionists proved that they could all take a pastoral scene and produce something very original—
A great experiment and in true scientific fashion It would have bee interesting to see a comparison with a control group of photographers who were all given the same background story. Would that have produced such a different range of images? Do our own individual experiences all contribute to how we see, independently of what we know about the subject?
Not only does this apply to photography and the creative/artistic vision we all bring to every situation, but much the same can be said of many of life’s activities. Each of us sees the show from where we sit! Great post with important ideas to keep in mind.
I utterly loved watching this experiment unfold. Definitely food for thought… and a more surprising conclusion than I could have appreciated before having seen it.
Truly enjoyed this, like stated above I would have liked more time to study the photos. Also, I would like to see the same experiment with the following change. One in which the subject did not know what role he was portraying. I admit this would cause problems with what knowledge he would be allowed to bring to each shot. But, it be interesting to see if it would have changed the outcome for the photographer and the story they were trying to reveal in their photos!