[blansky]

I think HCB understood that the goal isn't always an unstaged look.



http://www.threepennyreview.com/gall...cover_f07.html

Eye contact is a magical thing.

Staging is an interesting thing. Suppose Smith just walked into that room and what you see is the reaction that happened naturally. OR suppose he set those people in those chairs and placed the guy at the door and then set up the shot and told them to look at him. The guy being a no nonsense conservative kind of guy just looks like that.

Is there a different impact to the photograph.

I have an interesting thing I do while doing portraits. The body is set, the lighting is set and everything is set. Then I just talk to them. I do this a lot with kids. I just ask questions about them, their pets, their girlfriends/boyfriends, etc.......The shot is staged, obviously. But their mind isn't. It's moving and reacting. The wheels are turning. And the facial muscles and eyes are reflecting that.


I do this with adults sometimes. Everything is set. Then I say, think about this ???. Then think about your first kiss. Think about your last birthday, think about your deceased father....etc etc. Same thing. Stages shot but the mind is moving. Emotions are coming out. Sometime they cry, or laugh or they get melancholy or whatever.

With brides and fathers I used to manipulate them by getting them to look into each others faces and maybe half the time the father would start to get teary eyed.

The shot of VE day with the sailor and the nurse ( I think it was), could be setup just by telling the guy to "dip" her. Total setup. But the emotions that they then exhibit are real.

Staging is interesting.