I have been thinking about what I might miss about Zoom portraiture, when I get back to making pictures in the real world. Or, more importantly, are there things about the process that I would not want to give up, even if I could?
One obvious advantage to making portraits via video chat is that I can photograph people all over the world, so long as they have an internet connection. This has been the number one positive for me, as I love hearing what life is like in all corners of the globe. There are limits of course. I did think to myself, “Wow, I could even photograph someone in Antartica”. However, I soon learnt that over 1000 people at McMurdo Station share about the same bandwidth that we have at home. Random video calling, even for portrait making, is not permitted. So, I cannot get everywhere, but I have reached a lot of places.
Less obvious, is the kind of relationship building that Zoom allows. In pre COVID times, when people gave me a choice about where to make a portrait, I would always suggest that the sitter is on their own home turf. That way they are in their own environment and feel relatively relaxed, and the image is more likely to reflect their unique character. With Zoom, I think that effect is enhanced. Not only are people in their own homes, but I am much less intrusive on a screen than I would be in full-bodied real life. The portrait sitter is more in control. They get to choose what I see of the space, and they are the ones who position the camera; albeit under my direction. I think that people can be more honest and open with this set up. I have observed that on the whole this makes for more genuine portraits.
Finally, I love that Zoom’s format imposes a “selfie-signature” to all my pictures. A portrait subject’s expression is always, to some degree, a reflection of the photographer’s own. When I look at other people’s work, I am always asking myself, “What conversation was going on when this picture was made?” and “What caused the sitter to have this kind of expression?”. What I love about Zoom portraits is that the photograph of me in the corner, holding my camera, highlights the reality that portraits are a collaboration. It’s not just about the person you see in the final picture, it’s about the artist as well.
This Zoom portrait is of a friend of mine Gart, who lives in Komatsu, Japan.