Taking Photos Is Easy (But Getting It Is The Hard Part)

A few days ago, I came across Jeff Garlin’s November 11th photo exhibition in Chicago, presented by the folks at the Leica Gallery Los Angeles and Tamarkin Camera. Of course, we all know Mr. Garlin as Larry David’s best friend in the long running HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm. Obviously, this should be a fun exhibition. I mean, it will be filled with photos of Mr. Garlin’s celebrity friends and colleagues. From the photos shared by the folks at Tamarkin, we can see candid photos of such esteemed luminaries like Carl Reiner and George Segal.

Obviously, Mr. Garlin is a skilled photographer. Otherwise, why would the good folks at Tamarkin Camera hold an exhibition of his work? I mean, he knows how to handle the business end of a Leica rangefinder. From what we can see from the preview, Mr. Garlin clearly knows how to meter his subjects correctly, appears to practice proper shooting fundamentals, and can compose his shot with discrimination - at maximum aperture, no less. That said, I doubt that anyone is going to Mr. Garlin’s exhibition just to see if he knows how to take a photo.

Taking photos is the easy part. There is nothing remarkable about taking good photos. Anyone with the desire to take a good photo can take a good photo. I mean, it’s no secret. Everyone knows that. But, what is and has always been the hard part is actually getting the photo you want - unless you’re a celebrity like Mr. Garlin, who is in the enviable position to photograph anyone he wants - mainly his celebrity friends and colleagues. As for everyone else, the world is not filled with generous people all willing to be photographed by the likes of us.

Kodak Ektachrome E100 @ 50mm Focal Length

So, why am I picking on Mr. Garlin? Well to be frank, that’s not what I am doing. In my opinion, Mr. Garlin is well deserved of this recognition. It’s not for me to cast out the first stone at an actor diversifying into photography. That said, Mr. Garlin’s peripheral interests does provide me a segue into a discussion topic that many readers have brought up. It is a question of getting the photograph. Unbeknownst to many, taking a photo and getting a photo is not the same task. Taking the photo is a technical undertaking. In contrast, getting the photo isn’t.

What do I mean by that? In short, the task of taking a photo only requires one to have gear and some technical proficiency in using said gear to capture presentable images. In other words, that means the photo enthusiast knows how to meter the light correctly, practice proper shooting fundamentals, and frame any potential photo opportunity with compositional discrimination - much like Mr. Garlin. In that way, taking a presentable photo is just clockwork. As I’ve already stated, anyone with the initiative to take a good photo can take a good photo.

If life were only so simple. Unfortunately, the real world is never that straightforward. One might have gear and technical proficiency, but that does not guarantee success in getting that elusive photo. Where taking a photo is a technical task, getting the photo is a social task (when photographing people). For that reason, no amount of gear acquisition and upgrade or proficiency in handling said gear will help anyone get that elusive photo. In the end, success boils down to social skills - how you present yourself and how you interact with new people.

For many who have asked my advice on how to photograph people, the idea of working on our social skill is a bitter prescription to swallow. What is most unpleasant about this remedy is how it depends on the kindness of others charitable enough to pose for us. It is like our ambitions hinge at the mercy of strangers. At least with technical variables, like gear and technique, we are comforted with a feeling of absolute control over what we can do - since gear and technique can always be mastered in private with certainty of personal improvement.

But with social variables, that isn’t the case. Our ambitions do hinge at the mercy of strangers. For that reason, we don’t have the same feeling of comfort (that is typical of mastering gear and technique) when facing social variables like other people’s personality, cultural differences, and communal norms. Not surprisingly, we feel a lost of control when forced to face social variables, since they can’t be mastered in private. Without the safety of isolation, mastering social skills is daunting for those of us needing to hide behind the certainty of our gear.

Mastering social skills requires us to face the world head on. There’s no absolute control or certainty. The best we can hope for is for chance to shine favorably on us. That said, we must surrender to chance if we truly want it to find its way into our lives. Only then can we begin to work on those often neglected social skills necessary to convince people we do not know to pose willingly for us. That of course is much easier said than done. The reality on the street is much more challenging, given how numerous, varied, and nuanced social variables are.

People are complicated. They do not want us to take advantage of them. How are they to know that we are not being deleterious, when we ask them to pose for us? When we beg for their time? Or plead for their likeness in a photo? How are they to know that our intent is sincere? Fact is, they don’t know. So by default, it is often safer for them to just say no to us. I mean, I would say no, if someone asked me for my time. In fact, I would even say no to me, if I did not know who I was. After all, who knows what the likes of me intend to do with photos of me!

Saying no is the default position of anyone asked to pose. Saying no is consistent with most social variables in just about every situation. That said, saying no is not an absolute certainty written in stone. Despite our default position to remain uninvolved, there are other social variables acting in our favor. In particular, most of us also default on trust and friendliness - assuming that the ice is broken. Of course, the question now that begs to be answered is how one breaks that ice? We can try until we are blue in the face and still end up empty handed.

For starters, we need to present ourselves in the most positive way. I mean, no one wants to be photographed by people presenting themselves as unworthy and unwanted. It’s just irksome. So to alleviate the possibility of of being refused, it makes sense that we show our best. After all, we are all books being judged by our covers, in this skin deep world of first impressions. Looking repulsive, sounding creepy, and giving off bad vibes won’t help us gain the comfort of people we want to photograph. We must feel right to them to keep that door open.

Conversation is key to preventing that door from shutting on you. As long as we are communicating with each other, we humanize ourselves by becoming more familiar to them. Of course, this requires that we’re up to the task of idle chit chat. After a short while of friendly discussion, it becomes more difficult for someone to refuse a request for a photo. That inclination to default on trust and friendliness will override that strong inclination to default on being uninvolved. Once we’re all friends, nobody wants to be unfriendly or be seen as unfriendly.

Even so, people generally need a good reason for others to take photos of them. For a celebrity like Mr. Garlin, it is his fame and influence. For someone like me, it is my online body of work on this dog and pony show. And for someone like you, that is something you need to figure out. Regardless, you must be able to show others a legitimate body of work. In the real world, nobody wants to be photographed by someone who’s incompetent or unproven. Given that, it would make sense to have some online presence to alleviate any lingering doubt.

Still, there’s no guarantees that others will be accommodating enough for us to get the photo. In the end, no is no. We must respect other people’s wishes. Learning how to accept refusal is really a part of the photo getting process. Even for someone like me, I have been rejected on many occasions. Like I said, the local talents here in Hong Kong do not seem to be interested in participating on my photowalks. In any event, I do not get upset when it happens. At least, I still benefit from practicing my social skills along with experiencing the rejection.

Kodak Ektachrome E100 @ 50mm Focal Length - Edited the wink because her right eye was not fully shut and I preferred this image because of the red taxi in the background.

Understandably, I know my prescription for getting the photo is not simple. Mastering social skills is a difficult pill to swallow. It means we must expose ourselves to be judged by others. Rejection is an awful feeling, since it makes us feel like failures. To that, all I can say is that rejection gets easier over time. Do not take yourself too seriously. And besides, getting that photo you want has never been the point. It is about the experience. Once we are immersed in it, getting that photo will be incidental.

Work on your social skills. It will do more for your photography than any product upgrade or understanding of gear. If you don’t believe me, you only have to see Mr. Garlin’s photos to realize how important social skills are in getting the photo. If not for his reputation among his celebrity friends and colleagues, I doubt that Mr. Garlin would have had anyone to photograph in as intimate a way. His social skills (and not his technical skill in using an M-mount rangefinder) is why his photos are worth seeing.

Special thanks to Ania for taking a leap of faith in accompanying me on this and few more photowalks.

Disclaimer

Nov 14 Taking Photos Is Easy (But Getting It Is The Hard Part)

Disclaimer

Nov 14 Taking Photos Is Easy (But Getting It Is The Hard Part)

Nov 25 The Real Reason for our Love of Gear

Oct 22 Photography Is About The Experience