I’ve gotten feedback before that I tend to shoot too wide…which I agree used to be a big problem. Maybe it still is, but I don’t see the world in a tightly cropped, out of focus background kind of way.
Now that I use a fixed 35 mm lens I feel that if I’m too wide it’s more a matter of my distance to a subject than a lens choice. The longer I’m a photographer the more I grow to dislike “gimmicks” for the most part, and I think that shooting at 17 mm can often be considered this due to it’s exaggerated and dramatic look (in fact I just sold my fisheye lens so I will never be tempted to use it again). Another reason I opt to shoot at a wider focal length more often than not is because the telephoto feels like a crutch to me. A wide/normal lens offers more context and story-telling potential so much of the time, as well as challenge in organizing all that you see in front of you.

Even at 100mm I begin to feel like a marksman at target practice, and not like a photographer as much. There are always exceptions to this of course, especially when you are kept back for safety or access reasons, you have little choice but to use a long lens. There are the occasional “tight” shots I see that are so tight they pack emotion no other composition could carry. These shots are ones you can’t get in “sniper” mode. To be this tight you still have to be within a close distance to your subject and comfortable with them. I’ve never been good with these shots simply because I hate to pull out a big telephoto lens near someone’s face. I would hate it in mine, and I don’t want to do that to anyone else. That said, the people that can do this make amazing pictures sometimes.

The one time lately where I feel okay getting close and not like a sniper is when I’m taking portraits (I still use an 85 mm fixed lens for this as well…so still not too bad). Portraiture is probably one of the hardest kinds of photography to get good at, and one that many people are scared of. You’re not a fly on the wall anymore, this subject is completely aware of you and it’s up to you how comfortable or uncomfortable the subject is. I’ve been working on portraits more consistently the past year, focusing on location work. Again, I want to keep the context in the photo that will help the story, but I am trying to learn to make that “face” shot more interesting and compelling, to reveal more of that person through the face, because with most portraits, it’s not the composition that makes it, it’s the subject. I don’t like portraits that rely on crazy gestures, sets, plotlines, 94 lights (A few good lights can really kick it up a notch though), etc. Paired with documentary images I think they can add a new level of information.

Here’s an attempt from last week. 24 yr-old Scotty T who’s a Sawyer, working the heat of the midday sun. Scotty is working on the same farm he grew up on in Belleville, MI. I met him through Urbanwood.org, one of the organizations I am working with this summer. Scott’s role in the world of sustainable forestry is his milling of urban wood. Those trees in your front yard that you thought were worthless and nearing their end? Many people burn or chip them without giving it a second thought. He has the capabilities to turn it into some beautiful flooring or furniture.

Did I mention I’m still learning how to light in the midday sun? This may not do all the things I want a portrait to do, but it’s where I’m at for now.