Photographing Elinor Carucci
The Photographic Journal’s Editor in Chief Lou Noble introduced us via email and Elinor Carucci’s response included, “WHAT??? Chris Buck will be photographing me? OMG! i am all stressed out now, and excited, and honored and nervous! i will have to do my best and try and look good!!! oh wow.” I didn’t know what to think, was she mocking me? Most of my subjects don’t know who I am and rarely look up my work before a session, so I’m not used to managing this sort of thing before a shoot. I decided to say little in response, replying “I’m looking forward to it as well!”
The fact is that photographing other shooters is difficult for me. I tend to make decent, but not particularly insightful or powerful portraits of my colleagues. I’m too respectful and nice, and perhaps unconsciously see us as being in some big club together, hence I protect them from the deep critique that I offer other subjects, and usually resulting in my best portraits. On top of that I’m almost always photographing someone more successful than me in my chosen field - intimidating to say the least. With lay people I can gently manipulate them into where I need them but it gets complicated, and sometimes outright weird, when the sitter knows your tricks.
I do enjoy a challenge though so I’ve been working at improving my photographer portraits in recent years. For Elinor I wrote out three pages of single spaced ideas. I’ve learned to map out the full spectrum when prepping - from the outrageous to the very safe. A restrictive subject is tough but scarier for me is not being ready for an open and experimental sitter. They don’t come along often but it’s these meetups that lead to career-making photographs.
Amongst my notes for the shoot with Elinor was: partly hidden, under bed, press nude body against the wall, “bad lighting,” ugly colors, positive/negative, wet hair in face, hair in mouth, mouth open (confused), scissors, gun, cutting children’s hair, simple portrait, tight tight, tongue out, awkward in great light.
Funny enough, that last one, “awkward in great light” is one of the simpler notes, and may well be an astute description of my style, and it’s where we ultimately landed. Often times you have to go too far to find out where far enough is.
Top Image: Elinor Carucci, photographed in Chelsea, NYC.
Second Image: My favorite photo from the day (shot in her apt hallway.)
Bottom Image: I didn’t notice that the foot got cropped off in the execution of this shot, so I went back two weeks later and re-visited the pose with Elinor, with a special focus on her left foot.