Photographer Portraits (by Ryan Loewy)
As I espouse awkwardness and vulnerability in portraits it was difficult for me to know how to respond to this distinctly unflattering photograph of me. Like everyone else I want to look great in pictures (reality be damned) but as a portrait shooter I respect Ryan Loewy’s vision (and chutzpah) in making this edit.
Below is his take on the session with me, and then my friend and colleague, Greg Miller.
It recently crossed my mind that the most intimidating thing I could do would be to subject myself to the scrutiny of those that I idolized. And if I could produce a strong portrait of a photographer that I admire that would be a great accomplishment for me. I set out to shot with two of my favorite photographers.
The day of photographing Chris Buck was drizzling with rain, so I had to strategize locations that would keep my subject from getting wet but still yielded some sort of interest.
I made a list of pose ideas and went over them with Chris, each one meeting with reassurances of, “You can do whatever you want” (which wasn’t as reassuring as maybe he intended it to be). One of the shots referenced the sitting that he did with Anton Corbijn early in his career; I felt a parallel with that situation and wanted to emulate that shot in some way.
Greg Miller mentioned he had a function Miller High Life neon sign, and, after plugging it in and seeing how much light it produced (a very decent amount), we set up in a guest bedroom and began shooting.
Mid session, Greg yelled, “Holy shit! Did you see that?!” He had touched an exposed wire on the sign and got a shock. Thankfully he was okay and I wasn’t responsible for the death of one of the best photographers of my time.
My experiences with Chris and Greg were great, however it did also give me a bit of anxiety. I’ve learn through these two photographers, along with my own experiences, the brutality of the industry and the expectations that come with it. But hopefully I’ve also begun to take the steps I need to be a great photographer.