Lose the Viewfinder
Lessons from Churchill's portrait session
Several years ago, I worked on a photo project that involved a lot of portraits. Part of what made them successful (and rewarding to see the results) was my avoidance of the viewfinder.
I considered a portraiture story that I have loved since my early years in photography, which was a long time ago. The famous Yousef Karsh was to photograph the powerful Winston Churchill. Yousef was given permission to only create one image, so he had to take a risk. It’s a great story. His success involved him getting away from the back of his view camera.
For my project, I set my camera on the tripod and sat in a chair next to it. I watched and engaged my subjects with my head to the side of the camera, not behind it. With my hand resting on top of the camera, I would push the shutter at the appropriate times. The level of engagement and connection to who I was photographing (and learning about as we chatted) transformed the images.
Try it. Pay more attention to who inspires you than that which you use to create.
(Having spent my life as a photographer, I hope to help you love photograph because I know how much joy and creativity opportunities it brings. Much of what I share is reflective of, or influenced by, the concepts I share in my first photography book, “The Seeing, Not the Taking: A guide to seeing for photographers.” You can check out my photography here.)