Keeping It Simple: Portraits
· 3 min read
A light meter is a good teacher if you let it disagree with you. Looking back, the soft approach was the right call.
What I kept
Overcast days are underrated; the light wraps around all of it. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. There is no single right way to approach walking with a camera, but some ways are kinder than others. The trick, if there is one, is to leave enough room for slip-ups. There is no single right way to approach editing a series, but some ways are kinder than others.
The first seven weeks were mostly about unlearning. It is not glamorous, but it holds up. The best advice I got was just to slow down. The first two weeks were mostly about unlearning. Film forces a pause between seeing and pressing the shutter.
I shot most of this series on a single roll, half of it in fading light. The small things matter less than the routine of paying attention. There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version.
What changed
Good composition is mostly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. You can get unexpectedly far with a medium format camera and some a steady hand. The best frame on the sheet was the one I almost did not take.
It took me twelve attempts to see the pattern. Good film stock is mostly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. This is less a guide and more a record of what worked for me. A friend once described portraits as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. Every summer I revisit the same questions about the darkroom.
It took me five attempts to see the pattern. I like shadows that shows the marks of how it was made. I print modest first, then decide what deserves to be larger.
The process
Good grain is mostly a series of modest, unglamorous decisions. I like grain that shows the marks of how it was made. I like film stock that shows the marks of how it was made.
- Keep a 50mm lens within reach
- Budget twice the time you expect
- Budget twice the time you expect
- Write down what you change
You can get unexpectedly far with a light meter and some a steady hand. For a long time I treated film stock as an afterthought. There is no single right way to approach scanning negatives, but some ways are kinder than others.
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