Oma91 Headshots2020Oma's 91st birthday headshot portraits taken on her 91st birthday.
Do You See What I See?
When you think of someone you know, someone you've known for a while and you envision their face in your mind, what do you see? Do you see what I see? Or, do you see a different side of this person than others around you would see?
When my grandma (Oma) turned 91 we captured some beautiful headshot portraits of her to freeze the memories of this momentous time. But, while sorting through the images I found myself asking this question.
Which side of grandma do I relate to in my memories of her?
While going through the images I came across the above pose of my grandma and realized...this is how I know her!-WHY?
Seems a bit funny asking which side of someone you relate to.
It's not like we have multiple personalities. OR DO WE??? 😳😜
My mom, dad, sisters, cousins, other family and yes even my Oma herself would all choose a different image. One they would relate to, and that's what got me thinking...
When they see Oma in their minds eye, how do they envision her or remember her? Is it different than my remembrance of her? YES, I do believe it is!
This is one specific reason portrait photography is so important and wonderful. 😍 Capturing beautiful images is a given necessity, but what about the personal interactions with the subjects? Does a photographer need to help the subject and work with the subjects? Or, do the subjects need to come prepared to model and be ready to express themselves in front of an impersonal camera lens without any guidance from the photographer?
A skilled portrait photographer should be capable enough to cajole and entice their subjects and HELP REVEAL their personalities for the camera! 🤣😃😊
While thinking through this and chatting with my mom about these portraits I realized the difference of how I see my grandma and how influential I am during portrait sessions to bring out all my subjects personalities and characteristics. This means it is VERY IMPORTANT for a portrait photographer to spend time getting to know their subjects and building a relationship with them. This will help the photographer know how and when to bring out different facial reactions and body language emotions.
You see, whenever my grandma and I are around each other we're jesting, bantering and playfully making witty remarks to each other. We're trying to elicit a response or laughter from the other. So, out of the 3 images above I relate to the one in the middle because she's usually walking up to me with an expectant chuckle on her face.
Of course, she looks beautiful in all 3 images and, each image tells us a uniquely different story of who she is!😇
Naturally, Oma would choose the image on the left because of how inviting she might see herself, while others may choose the one on the right. You see, Oma is very German and has the tendency to be blunt in her interactions with others. So, some may see the standoffishness in the right image (body language) as the best depiction of who she is if they don't know her very well. While others who've taken the opportunity to understand her and know her will see her inviting character on the right as the best description. And as I've said I relate to the 1st image of the post and the middle image of the 3.
Do you have multiple personalities? 😳🤪
Do you have someone in your life like my grandma (Oma) and you wish you had a photographer who was capable of not just capturing a quality image, but also able to capture the personalities of your loved one(s)?
Below you'll see some options on how you can connect with us. Click the one that works best for you.
We very much look forward to getting to know you and your family and help you reveal and capture your characters in portraits for memory's sake!😍
