Portrait

WORDS: BELAPHOTO: NOAH GANHÃO

MÉNAGE

Portrait

Being in Ménage has granted us opportunities to be photographed by some amazing photographers. A gift we don’t take for granted.

Fernando and I grew up on MTV and iconic portraits of our musical heroes. These portraits inspired and motivated us. Not only to make music that would touch people’s lives but to one day, possibly be the subject of our own portrait that could connect with the masses. Those portraits we idolized as kids hung on our bedroom walls. They came in the form of posters that hung alongside the blessed crucifix from Fatima our grandmother gave us. We’d joke, “imagine if these songs we write make it to the lives and homes of perfect strangers and they tape posters of us onto their bedroom walls one day.” (...just one of the million reasons vanity is the most popular of the seven deadly sins, lol)

The songs we write about are based on real life experiences. So, when we pose for the camera, we pose as ourselves—not a fabricated persona. The experience of being photographed, most of the time by someone you hardly know, can be uncomfortable so I prefer when the photographer lets me pose how I feel most natural. I have been the subject of portraits highly orchestrated by photographers with defined visions of what they wanted the photo to look like. The end results in most cases have wound up feeling lifeless. Aesthetically the finished product may have looked interesting, but ultimately told no story.

When I look at portraits of myself, I can often remember that exact moment. If you were to ask about that day, I likely wouldn’t recall many of the details (mostly due to a snowboarding head concussion I suffered a few years ago which messed with my memory) I can tell you what I was thinking at that moment. That’s the magic of a photo. It captures a mere second in history and makes it eternal. And in that second, given some luck, raw emotions, and unfiltered vulnerability you may find yourself being the subject of a photo that someone someday may be considered an iconic portrait.

WORDS: bELA