Comments on: Portraits as vehicles for reflection and change?

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:27:26 +0000

Portraits on your website are awesome. I love it and agree with Mario “You always get me to think more deeply about photography”

Best Regards,

By: hairremoval

hairremoval — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:36:41 +0000

Howard,
This is a very interesting idea to get portraits of people at three stages of life and reflect on who they were, who they are – how they have changed, how they have not changed. I like portraits at your website: .

Thank you for sharing.
Linda

By: Kerry Lammi

Kerry Lammi — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:17:50 +0000

Howard,

I am intrigued by your the concept of photographs allowing the subject to be more at peace, and have new self respect. I am not specifically a portrait photographer, but have the ambition for the photographs I take to affect change.

I never thought that a portrait could do this, but I see how it can according to the quote below taken from your article.

“Do you know what it means for us to see a respectful portrait of
ourselves? Most of us have no photos of ourselves since we entered
the prison except for mug shots and awful Polaroid photos.
Your photos have helped us see ourselves in a new way, with a
new self-respect.”

Also the example of a multi-image portrait can really help — like a mini photo story of a subject.

Thanks for “thinking”
Kerry Lammi

By: patricia A murray

patricia A murray — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:36:21 +0000

I can look at portraits for days. To me, a portrait works when the people looking at it wonder who the person is or was, and want to learn more about the subject. This photo (let’s hope the link works) almost always makes people ask, “I wonder how this little guy is gonna turn out.” [url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/durhamskywriter/4609881569/[/url]

When I’m photographing someone, I feel that they’re ‘giving’ me something as opposed to my simply ‘taking’ their picture.

patricia A murray
former student of yours at Talladega College

By: Mario Mattei

Mario Mattei — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:51:48 +0000

Howard,

You always get me to think more deeply about photography. I love it!

Coincidentally I just had my wife take new portraits of me today b/c I realized I need a friendlier avatar photo.

As I looked at my current, high-contrast black & white avatar, I saw the side of me which is serious, contemplative, and hurt by the brokenness on earth. I realized that this is all true to who I am. But it is not the face I wear when meeting people. Avatars are often the image someone “meets” you with nowadays on twitter and facebook.

I am actually quite friendly, very open, giving people the benefit of the doubt and believing the best about who they are and the opportunities we have each day.

The new portrait is intended to communicate this b/c I think that’s who people would meet if/when they meet me offline.

Call me over analytical, but I also intentionally created the lighting to leave one side of my face more in a shadow, but not too much. I am into dramatic contrasts as metaphor for the tensions between Light & Dark at work in us and in the world. Your ‘about the author’ picture here possesses this lighting quality.

This post is very relevant to me and has caused me to think about this even more. Good timing, too. I’m hoping to have this new avatar up, on at least twitter, by next week.

Something I do in my cultural / documentary photography is show the image on the display screen to my subject after I’ve taken it. Their reaction informs me on how to proceed, or not. But now, I’m thinking there could be certain questions worth exploring with them if time and circumstance (and language) permitted.