To Zoom or Not to Zoom- Portraits with Primes

(A slightly different version of this post originally appeared on the Sigma lens site. You can see it here.)

As a photographer who specializes in environmental portraiture, lens selection is critical to the look of my work. Much of the time I choose to shoot with prime lenses. Let me explain why I made that decision for one of my projects.

In 2014, I was given an artist residency at The Hambidge Center for Arts and Sciences in Rabun, Georgia.  For two weeks that year and again in 2015 and 2016, I was given a cabin tucked away in the mountains, dinner prepared for me four nights a week, and encouragement to do whatever I wanted. I had driven through the area around Hambidge a number of times when my wife and I had gone to the Great Smokie Mountains of North Carolina from our home in Atlanta on camping trips. We often stopped at flea markets along the way and the faces I saw at these rural stops struck me. There was an extraordinary range of types and ages and looks. I knew there was a project here waiting for me to photograph. That idea became American Flea.

Mary-Lynn Starkey runs a small flea market near Franklin, NC with her husband Roger. They told me they decided to open their store because they needed some way to get rid of the stuff they had accumulated by going to auction. 

 For me, shooting portraits takes time, primarily because I need to talk to my subjects to get them to relax and trust me. The flea market portraits were no different- in fact, talking to people became an integral part of the process. Many of the vendors and customers will tell you that making money or finding bargains isn’t the thing they enjoy most about the experience. What they really love is the chance to meet and talk to the people they encounter. I found that everyone had a story and they wanted to share it with me.

Charles Brank, AKA Chuck B, sells his woodcarvings at the Franklin Flea and Craft Market in Franklin, NC.

When I work in this way, I think of portraiture as an active process. I’m not a passive observer as when I’m doing a story that requires a more candid approach. I’m actively engaged with my subjects when we’re talking before I start photographing and as the shooting begins, that engagement continues. I set up strobes and I rarely work from a tripod.

Peggy Hines, Randy Hines, and Randy’s mother, Christine Duncan sell odds and ends at the Woodpecker Wood Works Flea Market in Franklin, NC.

Primes, that is non-zoom lenses, were perfect for this style. I don’t want to hang back, zooming in and out to alter my compositions. I want to be actively moving around the space, closer, farther away, higher, lower. I sometimes think of myself dancing when I shoot like this. It’s a metaphoric dance as I try to elicit the best expression or pose from someone, but it almost becomes a literal dance as I change the scene in my viewfinder. The focal lengths of 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm are perfect for showing the environments that are so important to this work. I may even try a 20mm for some of them when I’m in particularly tight spaces and want to see even more if the environment in the frame.

Dodie Allen was helping a friend out by working in his vegetable stand at Uncle Bill’s Flea Market in Whittier, NC.

 All the photographs in this post were taken with a Nikon D600. The lenses were The Sigma Art Series primes specifically 24mm f1.4 DG | Art, 35mm f1.4 DG | Art, and 50mm f1.4 DG | Art Series. All were lit using an Elinchrom ELB with a 17 inch silver beauty dish. Most were shot utilizing Hi-Sync technology which let me synchronize my Nikon at speeds up to 1/4000 of a second. Stay tuned to my blog (or better yet subscribe to it) for an upcoming post that explains Hi-Sync in detail.

You can see more from American Flea on my web site.

Shooting Portraits

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From "Faces and Heels- Inside Independent Wrestling" See more here

 The majority of my work has always been of people and the majority of those people pictures have been portraits. The range has been quite large and I’ve shot all kinds of people. I hope the characteristic that is common to all those people in all those places is that the subjects in my portraits seem comfortable. They’re relaxed and appear at peace with themselves. But why? Why do they look like that? 

From"Pursuit of the Spirit"

In many ways, photography, in and of itself, is not that difficult. Learning to properly expose, compose, and print photographs can be mastered with moderate effort. Unfortunately, skill at those elements doesn’t guarantee that one’s pictures will be anything that people will want to look at, much less pay for. All the technological advancements that make photography “easy” can’t tell you what to point your camera at. It will never be able to tell you when to press the shutter button. And, in the case of portrait photography, it can’t tell you how to treat people in order to capture a successful image.

From "European Portraits" see more here

I think the single most important thing to accomplish when shooting portraits is remembering to talk to one’s subjects. A successful portrait is usually one where there is an element of trust developed between the photographer and the person in front of the camera. The sitter needs to feel that they won’t be taken advantage of or made to look ridiculous.  They need to know that they won’t be exploited or sensationalized. In some ways, they need to like the photographer. The most direct way to accomplish this, I think the most honest way, is to have a conversation.

Director of the Zippo Museum in Bradford, PA

I don’t mean to say that this is the only way to make a great portrait. In fact, there are easy examples of photographers who eschew this method and go to some lengths to do the opposite, bullying their subjects into submission as they create their vision of how someone should look. Annie Liebovitz immediately comes to mind and no one, least of all this photographer, would suggest she isn’t a great portraitist. But I think most of us don’t have the force of personality or the raw photographic talent to make this a realistic working method.

From "Day & Night" see more here

When I shoot someone, it’s important to me that when we’re done, they feel good about what just happened, not bludgeoned with demands that made them uncomfortable. It sounds stupid and a little needy, but I want people to like me. Liking me usually leads to trusting me and I find that if they do, the results in the portrait will be stronger.

From "Day & Night" see more here

Talking is the best way to reach this end point, but you have to remember to not allow the conversation to be your monolog. It’s much more important to ask questions and get the other person talking. If you’ve had a chance to do a little research on them, this will be much easier. How did they start their business? Why did they move to their current home? How has having children changed how they think of themselves? Ask them to tell you about how they spend their time on the weekend. Ask them to tell you about their favorite part of their job.

From "Tibet" see more here

None of those questions have one word answers. They’re all what documentary filmmakers refer to as open ended. They all require thought and explanation. They all make follow-up questions easier because they are relatively complex. The photographer can’t help but learn about the person they’re about to shoot a portrait of.

From "European Portraits" see more here

I admit that this is a fairly easy process for me. I’ve been doing it for so long, that I can’t remember whether it was ever difficult for me. I’m naturally a very curious person. I sincerely want to learn as much as I can about anyone I meet. Photography has proven to be the perfect tool to indulge my curiosity. Having a camera gives me permission to ask questions that in other circumstances might be considered too personal or even rude. It provides me with the perfect excuse to be nosy. It’s my skills at talking, not photography, that allow me to go into virtually any environment and come out of it with decent results. 

From "Out on Buford Highway" see more here

I’ve photographed people as widely varied as inmates in prison, neo-Nazi skinheads, Mormons at sacred sites in upstate New York, CEOs, janitors, patrons of rural pubs in Wales, workers in ethnic restaurants in suburban Atlanta, professional dominatrixes, African American rodeo cowboys, and tattoo artists. The thing common to them all is that I am genuinely interested in their stories and thoughts. I want to know why they do what they do, how they feel about their lives, what brings them joy, and what makes them feel sadness.

From "Out on Buford Highway" see more here

The other thing that often happens while talking to a person you’re about to photograph is more specific and technical than the issue of trust. While carrying on this conversation, I try to let one part of my brain stay aware of the visual conditions of the person and the location. I hopefully will get clues as to how to tell this person’s story. Is there a specific prop that I should show? Do they cover their mouth when they laugh, thus alerting me to the fact that they’re self-conscious of their teeth? Should I try to shoot them looking up at the camera because they have a tendency to show a double chin? Is there one corner of the room that will make for a more dynamic composition? While paying attention to our conversation, I’m also letting my eyes do visual reconnaissance. After all, making a great picture is why I’m there.

From "Disappearing Pub Culture" see more here

So what can you do if this whole process seems too difficult and you’re not naturally as gregarious as I am? I have a few suggestions that might help.

1.     In the beginning, keep your photography as simple as possible. This might mean shooting with the available light or with a simple one light set up. Make sure you’re completely familiar with your equipment. Don’t use that new or borrowed or rented camera with controls that can confuse you. At first you need to be able to concentrate on your relationship with your subject and not let the photography get in your way.

2.     Scout your location in advance. This can allow you to avoid struggling with the situation in front of you and distract you from the communication with your subject.

3.     Do some research on your subject. This prepares you with a few questions and will hopefully provide you with information that you’ll want to learn more about. You don’t need to know everything about them, just enough to give you the basis for the conversation.

4.     Pre-light the scene so the person doesn’t have to sit around waiting for you to wrestle with your gear. When I was shooting regularly for major magazines, I arrived at locations a minimum of two hours early to figure out where I was going to shoot and how I was going to light.

5.     Don’t forget to ask open-ended questions. “How do feel about. . .?” “Tell me about. . .” “What was it like when. . .?” “How do you go about. . .?” Almost everyone responds to someone who expresses a genuine interest in who they are and what they think. Make sure you’re that person for anyone who has taken the time to sit in front of you and your camera.

As with most things in photography, you’ll get better as you shoot more. Everything in this article is intended as starting points, not rules. With time and with effort, you’ll discover what works for you and how you can make the best pictures possible. The most important thing to discover is how to make your pictures- not mine or anyone else’s. Yours. That’s where the joy comes from.

From "Faces and Heels- Inside Independent Wrestling" see more here

 A shorter, edited version of this article was previously published on the blog Light Leaked