Editorial portraiture

[Sailorjerry]

I recently worked with a photographer whose style and attitude inspired me a great deal. Up until very recently (last week) I have not had any interest in shooting people. This has changed, and I will produce a portfolio of editorial and lifestyle portraiture for my graduation. Another influence has been my good friend R. Bradley who is a fellow student. Brad came from the theatre scene and has been around actors and performance artists for a long time. It really shows in his work. Probably the most important thing I have learned from Brad and John is that you do not have to conform to society norms and values to be a successful people photographer. It's really a lot more about telling the story behind the face. I have a long way to go with this but I really feel that I have discovered a new facet to photography that I shunned in the past because I did not think that I had anything to contribute to the genre.
Enclosed are the first two successful images I have produced with my new interest in mind, both were taken last week. The lady in front of the woodpile is my mother. She is currently quite ill with kidney disease (12% function of kidneys) and will most likely have to go on dialysis unless a transplant option comes through soon. I wanted to show her determination and vibrancy despite what problems lurk beneath the surface.
The second image is of my friend and shooting buddy Hollis. Hollis is majoring in fine art and currently working on a project dealing with the downfall of society. He is quite opinionated and comes across as pompous and arrogant to many people. I wanted to preserve this quality that he has about him but at the same time portray him as the successful and strong individual that he is. Another challenge was to capture the environment in which he creates his images, I was only marginally successful here but I still think it is a valid representation of him.

Thanx for listening, any input on people photography would be interesting to hear about.

SJ