"Sonia"
This is my entry for the #monomad challenge.
It had been a while since I had done a portrait session, even if it was with a friend, but I was eager to do one. Portraiture is one of my favorite photographic genres, and being able to bring to life what I see so often in exhibitions, photobooks, digital platforms... is something I really desire. Unlike photographing an inanimate object, a landscape, a building, a commercial still life, or even street photography in which the human element appears... having a person as your photographic subject, face to face, eye to eye, can sometimes be intimidating, other times a challenge due to the difficulties presented by the model. Sometimes it is a call to the ego: “I am going to portray this person like no one has done before, bring out something that no one else has brought out until now.” Other times, doubts assail me and unconscious insecurities surface: “Will I be able to capture this person well? Will I be able to express what I want?” Instead of asking yourself question after question, drowning in doubts and uncertainties, grab your camera, stand in front of the model, and take pictures, even if the fear of being “judged” is present at the moment of taking the photograph and in what the model's eyes may see during the session.
The interplay of projections that develops between the model and the photographer, and vice versa, is fascinating. Firstly, because of the image that the model has of themselves and projects outward with the desire for the photographer to capture that image and return it to them captured in the photographs; but secondly, there is how the photographer sees the model subjectively and captures it in the photographs with the desire for this vision to be shared by the model. How many times have we taken a photo (or had one taken of us) and when we showed it, we thought, “This isn't me,” or, on the contrary, “You've captured me so well, I LOOK great.” If the camera is “objective,” we are not.
If, at first, portraits were a graphic testimony to the customs of a society, with individual portraits, family portraits, even photos of deceased people, portraits that showed social status, portraits of political, intellectual, and artistic celebrities... simply for the sake of being so, with the emergence of the avant-garde and direct photography (or pure photography), portraits took on a psychological depth. Now, when a portrait is taken, the personality of the subject is sought, what lies behind the gaze, capturing in the portrait what a psychoanalyst would want to see in the first session with a patient. Emotions are sought, and the subject is encouraged to let go of their inhibitions to the point where they abandon all resistance and show themselves as they are, with their angels and demons.
With the emergence of psychological portraiture, one must ask oneself, “What do I want to express?” when undertaking a portrait session. Expressing my view of the world through the model's gaze seems to be an obligation of the portraitist. Whether or not the objective is achieved is another matter.
The photos I am presenting here were taken during a session with Sonia at the beginning of the summer. It was a non-profit session, and I have her permission to publish them publicly. All photos are my property.
And after seeing them, what do they suggest to you? ---                      ---
It had been a while since I had done a portrait session, even if it was with a friend, but I was eager to do one. Portraiture is one of my favorite photographic genres, and being able to bring to life what I see so often in exhibitions, photobooks, digital platforms... is something I really desire. Unlike photographing an inanimate object, a landscape, a building, a commercial still life, or even street photography in which the human element appears... having a person as your photographic subject, face to face, eye to eye, can sometimes be intimidating, other times a challenge due to the difficulties presented by the model. Sometimes it is a call to the ego: “I am going to portray this person like no one has done before, bring out something that no one else has brought out until now.” Other times, doubts assail me and unconscious insecurities surface: “Will I be able to capture this person well? Will I be able to express what I want?” Instead of asking yourself question after question, drowning in doubts and uncertainties, grab your camera, stand in front of the model, and take pictures, even if the fear of being “judged” is present at the moment of taking the photograph and in what the model's eyes may see during the session.
The interplay of projections that develops between the model and the photographer, and vice versa, is fascinating. Firstly, because of the image that the model has of themselves and projects outward with the desire for the photographer to capture that image and return it to them captured in the photographs; but secondly, there is how the photographer sees the model subjectively and captures it in the photographs with the desire for this vision to be shared by the model. How many times have we taken a photo (or had one taken of us) and when we showed it, we thought, “This isn't me,” or, on the contrary, “You've captured me so well, I LOOK great.” If the camera is “objective,” we are not.
If, at first, portraits were a graphic testimony to the customs of a society, with individual portraits, family portraits, even photos of deceased people, portraits that showed social status, portraits of political, intellectual, and artistic celebrities... simply for the sake of being so, with the emergence of the avant-garde and direct photography (or pure photography), portraits took on a psychological depth. Now, when a portrait is taken, the personality of the subject is sought, what lies behind the gaze, capturing in the portrait what a psychoanalyst would want to see in the first session with a patient. Emotions are sought, and the subject is encouraged to let go of their inhibitions to the point where they abandon all resistance and show themselves as they are, with their angels and demons.
With the emergence of psychological portraiture, one must ask oneself, “What do I want to express?” when undertaking a portrait session. Expressing my view of the world through the model's gaze seems to be an obligation of the portraitist. Whether or not the objective is achieved is another matter.
The photos I am presenting here were taken during a session with Sonia at the beginning of the summer. It was a non-profit session, and I have her permission to publish them publicly. All photos are my property.
And after seeing them, what do they suggest to you? ---                      ---
All photos are entirely my property (registered in the RAW metadata). Equipment used: Nikon D810, ultraviolet filter "HOYA", and PHOTOSHOP for the editing of black and white edition. This text has been translated from my native Spanish with the translator DeepL Translate.