Spontaneity vs planned, structured, choreographed work

One of the photographs I took on Tuesday for Vertical & Horizontal exercises.

It has been very difficult to make time to for this part of my life this week. I planned a day photographing on Tuesday and managed to get some shots for the exercises but I have not been able to sit down and order or upload them.  My deadline looms but between now and then there is a half-term filled with activities as well as editing and processing some work stuff.  I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed to say the least and really questioning the costs/benefits of putting assignments in for assessment or aiming for a qualification.  I have a degree already and am not doing this to achieve another.  I already feel that the little reading, thinking and work I've done for Part 1 has had a tangible impact on my work and I am enjoying learning about and recognising photographers.  So it's certainly worth doing the course but I'm not sure adding pressure about achieving grades is going to be very helpful to me. 

There were a couple of things that struck me this week that I wanted to record.  While reading through The Photograph as Contemporary Art (1) I was encouraged to read that 'strategy here is about constructing an environment that draws the subject out, first through the photographer's choreography and then through the responses of the individual sitter' in relation to Helleen van Meene.  According to the commentary there is a 'deliberate putting aside of her prepared 'script' and her 'photographing of what then spontaneously unfolds' creates a tantalising ambiguity about what what she is presenting.

I was interested by this not because I think I am aiming to present some form of 'allegorical' study of anything in particular or any 'other worldly protagonists' in a kind of production but because it is interesting to consider how others work.  I am always worried I don't give enough direction and guidance when photographing portraits.  I'm not really interested in posed photographs or images that are choreographed as things stand - maybe that is a fault or a negative in me.  And I think there are times when I should be taking more charge in certain situations.  But I think I'm really trying to capture whatever it is that the subject wants to present either consciously or otherwise.  Perhaps this is just down to the fact I don't know what I'm doing and maybe if I did I would give more direction, and have a firmer idea about what I'm after.  But that then becomes something about me and not about the person I'm photographing and I think the photo should be about them.  Is this something I need to reconsider I wonder.  Certainly people might feel lost at sea without any guidance whatsoever but I think I prefer to provide a sense of security by appearing to be in control of my own responsibilities - taking the photographs rather than providing a choreographed highly directed style.

Another thing I have thought about this week is how some family portrait photography seems to present its subjects in the same way as expensive merchandise might be. I suppose if I'm honest I'm speaking about some forms of newborn photography in particular.  I can't help wondering if I'm being dismissive because I'm referring to a style of photography that I simply can't do!  Perhaps - but I was struck by a couple of photos doing the rounds on social networking sites which deride an assumed amateur's attempt to photograph a baby lying down over a rug and compares it to a highly polished professional very beautifully taken photograph of a baby posed in a typical position on a sheepskin rug.  The thing about the professional photo and the many similar available to see online, is that the baby is presented in the same way in my mind as a pair of designer boots.  The baby becomes a commodity.

I've been asked to do a couple of baby shoots and I'm not sure I ever want to do that sort of image - which is a shame because people will pay a lot of money for such photos.  But even if I wanted to I'm not sure I could.  In fact, I took some earlier this week and there was one photo in particular that I was very keen to pop up here as it a starkly different to what I've described above.  This photo wasn't a beautifully posed portrait of a baby in a basket or propped up on a sheepskin smiling (actually wind every time in newborns) and snoozing quietly.  The baby in my photo is naked and being held facing the camera straight on and crying - and I loved it.  It was so alive and real and genuine - an authentic moment in the life of a newborn human being.  Sadly for me the parent was adamant that I could not use any of the images online.  The thought of her child being posted online anywhere whatsoever made her extremely upset and in the end I have to respect that.  I do have T&C's stating that I will use images from shoots in my own promotional online presence but I'd forgotten to point these out as it was for someone I know from a few years back.  Even so, had she read the T&Cs she may have changed her mind about having the shoot done and I'd never have taken the photograph in the first place which would have been a shame.

Perhaps I'll never take another photo like it as as I've mentioned earlier I don't tend to structure, style and choreograph and my preferred way of working is relatively spontaneous at the moment.  I can't help wondering if this is just due to lack of experience.  And I suppose this is something I need to think about.  If I'm going to be a professional then I need to get shots that clients are after and there is likely a balance to found between my desire for spontaneity and the the need to be able to produce what is required.

Goodness, I hope I am able to produce what is required for the exercises and assignment of Part 1 on time!

1. The Photograph as Contemporary Art, new edition, 2009, Charlotte Cotton, Thames and Hudson World of Art; page 33, illustration 25.