When cameras attack

A drama student reflects on feedback from the class after improvising a scene

Available light portrait in hallway

Lost in thought

I was looking through my archive of images – sorting, rating, tagging and backing up when I noticed these two photos and decided I’d share them and my thoughts.

Both subjects are aware I am there and they are being photographed but they are lost in thought or momentarily distracted enough for me to take the shot. In other words, the guard is down and the subject produces a non-conscious pose. Why am I mentioning this? Well I have a recurring conversation with subjects and the introduction goes something like this:

“Hi, this is James he’ll be taking photos of us/you today.”

“Oh my God! I hate having my picture taken they’re never any good.”

From this, not untypical, start to a session, the more astute will have worked out that it’s your job as photographer to overcome this rational/irrational fear of having your picture taken. It’s best to be ready with some one-liners that will develop trust and start a rapport and don’t say “just relax”, because that’s the sort of thing dentists and gynaecologists say before they do something painful to you.

If we examine this fear of the photographer a bit deeper, we could conclude that the subject is not afraid of the camera itself but the power it represents. Some have seen the camera as a soul stealing magic box, a common belief of cultures that practiced Voodoo, when confronted with western image making technology. But I’m not talking about that and it shouldn’t be too much of a problem today. I’m talking more about the power you wield in when you capture them in an unflattering light,  insert them into a newspaper/magazine/website, print and reproduce it a million times, leaving no opportunity to live it down

So with the fear identified, let’s gawp at those who are on the receiving end of when cameras attack:

The camera attack as an art form

Family portrait with onion

If you don’t think that camera attack is a genuine fear, imagine if any of these images on awkwardfamilyphotos.com were of you. AFP is one of my favourite blogs and a treasure trove of what not to do for photographers. Unusually for this kind of website it’s not cruel or vindictive and should be applauded for collecting and celebrating these “attack moments” some of which transcend crap to attain genius level. Personally, I love the above picture, its composition is reminiscent of an old master. Certain elements – the dog, use of onion and the man in the green shirt, for me, make the picture priceless. I’ll bet this is miles better than the one they left the studio with.

Relaxed and carefree

There are exceptions to the fear of attack of course, professional models (you’d hope), kids (who don’t care) and the very drunk (who should care but don’t) see below.

Maciej Dakowicz has spent some considerable time capturing Cardiff’s nightlife.

Pink hat by Maciej Dakowicz

Pink Hat is part of Maciej’s Flickr collection Cardiff at Night.

Parting shots

Can we gleam any advice for surviving a camera attack? Relax, avoid your family, don’t drink too much and as Robert De Niro is fond of saying, “Forget about it!”.