5 minute read
Philosophy of Photography
New York based Editorial Photographer Jeff Kravitz shares his perspective and practices when it comes to the art of photography.
June 15 2021
Advertisement
Iconsider myself new to editorial photography. As much as I always enjoyed photography, I only started in earnest at the end of 2015.
I got my first camera from my cousin. Well, I borrowed a camera from my cousin. A Canon AE-1. One of the most popular film cameras of all time. For a high school photography class, in 1985. We were mostly taught dark room techniques. The mechanics. It is what I grew up on. From the early 2000s on, a sizable percentage of my personal life was within the fine art photography world. Galleries.. exhibitions. Photography you could see in a museum. Photos that tell a story.
When I look at the “greats”. The photos others have taken over the past 100 years that stand out, a large majority of them are in black and white. I can not underestimate how that influences me. Black and white to me also has more of a timeless quality to it. If you were to look at a color photo from the 1970s for instance, you would see lots of browns, greens and oranges. The 1980s, more vibrant colors in bold patterns. Early 90s,lots of plaid. Late 90s, more neon-ish. Make it black and white and that all fades away. It is no longer a photo of an era. Are there photos of others that I love that are in color? Yes. Many. Do I shoot color? Yes. All the time. But I still aim for timelessness.
I’ll photograph anyone that I find interesting. That draws me in. For my paid work that goes without saying. For my personal work that still holds true. In the 5 years since I first said to someone “I need to learn how to photograph you”, I have noticed a few things about shooting models versus non models, men versus women. Even different types of models. I would rather shoot a non-model who doesn’t know what they are doing and hasn’t developed any bad habits, than a model with said bad habits. Those habits of course being for the type of photography we are going for.
“I like to photograph anyone before they know what their best angles are.” - Ellen Von Unwerth
I do feel that is sort of true. Someone I simply want to shoot, I can talk them through what I want. I may need to teach them how to listen to direction, but then it is on me as the photographer to direct. Models are. For lack of a better word. Different. There are tons of different types of models: runway, beauty, swimwear and lingerie, instagram, gowns, nude, etc. And everyone learns skills and habits from what they focus on. If a skill becomes very ingrained, habits from one style do not always translate to another. Nerves become frayed. Shoots become longer. My favorite professional models are the ones who, while they know they are beautiful (they get told it often) it is just a “whatever”. Show me goofy. Show me ridiculous. Show me serious. Show me emotion. Show me what makes you YOU. My favorite models are the ones who are not worried about whether they look beautiful in a photo.
“Photography is no longer a love affair with the beauty of reality.” - Peter Lindbergh
When it comes to photoshop, let’s get this first part out of the way. Editing is not new. Professional photos have ALWAYS been edited. Though it was a lot harder 100 years ago.
A photo was taken, printed, “Dodged and burned” in the darkroom to change highlights and shadows. The print would then be painted.. By hand. With tiny brushes. Editing skin, backgrounds etc. and after this “retouching”, it would be photographed again with the changes. The choice of film would change how a photo would look. Punchy colors. Subdued colors. Contrasty black and white. Muted. Even the paper choice. Editing is not new. There is nothing magical about a film photo. About how “real” it is. It was never real. As technology has progressed it has become a lot easier to edit everything. And that ease has only sped up the past few years. When I was a teen, in the 1980s, I do remember hearing about the harmful impact of the many ads young girls were exposed to in a given day. This was before the web. Before Instagram. Before people walked around with all these photos of the entire world in their pocket, that they could access at any time. So the problem has only gotten worse.
“The cosmetics industry has brainwashed us all. I’m not retouching anything. “Oh, but she looks tired,” they say. And then if she looks tired? Tired and beautiful.” - Peter Lindbergh
Do I edit? Yes. Do I try to be minimal about it? VERY. Do I try to make anyone perfect? No. No one is perfect. My general rule is “if it disappears on it’s own given enough time, I’ll edit it. A breakout.. Pimples.. Etc. If it was because of the angle my camera was on, I’ll fix it (if possible). My goal is for the subject to always look like the subject. No one should see a photo and say “Is that them?!?!?!?”
Some of my favorite photos are of people without any editing, as much as a photo can be unedited, that is.
There are always style choices. Something as simple as the type of camera and lens can change how the photo will look. When shooting “raw” (the digital equivalent - for lack of a better word - of a film negative) the choice of Being a child of the 70s, a teen of the 80s, and in college in the early 90s, I grew up in the era of the supermodel. The superstar photographers. The advertising photos that you could see printed. Large. Matted. Framed. And hung on a wall as a piece of art. That WAS art.
My 30s through today, I have been surrounded by the fine art photography world. I think the influence of my age, when I grew up, and what I am surrounded by now is evident in what I am drawn to. And how I photograph. Nothing is perfect. No one is perfect. “Pretty girl in a pretty place doing pretty things”. I’d rather show depth of emotion. - Hopefully I get close. ■
