1. In
a new environment, don't rush to take pictures.
Don't
be a trigger-happy, unthinking robot. Susan Sontag said that we
shoot in order to gain a sense of control in an unfamiliar setting,
as a way of “ certifying experience... converting experience into
an image, a souvenir.” Take a few days to immerse yourself in the
new culture, mentally note down potential shots, and then begin
shooting. It's not about shooting every single thing you see. You
need to be discerning. Think about why you're taking the picture.
2. As
Tzang said, photographs
should tell a story.
They
shouldn't just be pretty pictures. Instead they should carry depth
and meaning, and most importantly, make people feel something. Also, remember that less is more.
3. Be assertive
(note: not aggressive) If
you want to photograph something, just do it. Stop worrying about
what others may think.
4.Your
photographs reflect who you are
As Susan Sontag wrote:
“ The photographer was thought to be an acute
but non-interfering observer- a scribe, not a poet. But as people
quickly discovered that nobody takes the same picture of the same
thing, the supposition that cameras furnish an impersonal, objective
image yielded to the fact that photographs are evidence not only of
what's there but of what an individual sees, not
just a record but an evaluation of the world”
And
I have found this so telling of the people I've come across. Evelyn's
shots of charming cafes and pretty fields bathed in soft light and
gorgeous smiles hint at her dreamy and girly personality. Likewise
for my senior Ivan Tan, whose photographs are unbearably beautiful,
yet there are undercurrents of melancholia across his work. And
there's my coursemate who shoots only in film, and regards
himself as an "old soul". I don't know why, but I find this so
fascinating. Through photography, the essence
of people is manifested in tangible form.
5. Step
out of your comfort zone and ask strangers for their portraits
People
bring your pictures to life. In Bali, I finally mustered my courage
to approach strangers, and it was so rewarding to see their
flattered and happy expressions as they posed obligingly for the
camera. I tried doing that in Singapore, which is so much harder because Singaporeans are naturally reserved and guarded. Also, you should never treat people like specimens, it's just
demeaning. This observation by Susan Sontag still haunts me:
“To photograph
people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see
themselves, by having knowledge of them they can never have; it
turns people into objects that can be symbolically possessed. Just
as the camera is a sublimation of the gun, to photograph something
is a sublimated murder- a soft murder, appropriate to a sad,
frightened time.”
6. Don't
forget to put down your camera
While
photography gives an “appearance of participation” (Sontag), it
can never be substituted for the real thing. Don't be so obsessed
with finding the perfect shot that you forget to live and take in
everything around you.
7. And
finally, as Tzang once told my class: Be
sublime.
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