*ooof*: Pushing Buttons

[Mild RPF warning]

Will she? Will she? Really? But it’s so predictable… She will!

Outwardly shy or inwardly groaning, Armitage?
Richard Armitage in a shot by Leslie Hassler
for New York Moves Magazine, Nov. 2013

How could she *not* choose this one – different, delectable and ‘dorable as this image is. Ladies, Richard Armitage. In a portrait. In casual disarray of a formal shirt and tie, with waistcoat, heavy stubble, his head unceremonially cut off below the hairline, a few curls sticking out behind his neck. His hands are protectively held in front of his head. Not quite – the fingers are spread, and thus we get a glimpse of the subject’s eyes behind the hands, head tilted forwards, forehead scrunched, eyes looking up from under the brow. The sclera are in full force, the look is ambiguous. But his face is obscured: He is hiding behind his hands. We do not get the full picture.

And yet this image speaks to (many of) us more than the flurry of fashion ed images we have seen in the last weeks. Because – and I do the unthinkable, quote myself and use bad language – “fashion photography my arse”. Yes, since there are clothes in this image, there is fashion contained within. But it is most certainly not the focus of this shot. This is a wonderful classic portrait, a photograph of a subject’s face intended to capture a facet of his personality, his mood, his self. You could argue that he is merely posing, acting out a direction of the photographer. And yes, it is unlikely that this is an involuntary pose that Armitage strikes during the shoot and that photographer Leslie Hassler is lucky enough to capture with her camera. Physically, if we want to hide behind our hands, we close the fingers, and we do not hold still to peek and check whether we are being observed. But whatever the origin of the pose is – Armitage agrees to the gesture of putting his face into his hands, and the outcome of the shot looks convincingly real, not unnatural, not artificial, but like a spur-of-the-moment reaction.

Compare this shot to the head-and-shoulders portrait of Armitage stroking his chin. The hand serves a compositorial purpose there. Here, the hands have an interpretative purpose. They act less as gaze-guiding lines or as a provider of contrast (which photographers love so much), but they are an integral part of the interpretation of the sitter. While obscuring what is generally considered the most important part of a portrait – the face – the hands act as a prop that add meaning to the image. Or maybe Hassler has copped on – like we have – to the attractiveness of Armitage’s appendages and wants an excuse for them to be in the shot? According to conventions, in a portrait the sitter shows his face to allow the viewer not just an appraisal of the facial beauty characteristics, but also an interpretation of the physiognomical features in terms of character and personality: We perceive laughter lines as an indication of a happy disposition. A downturned mouth stands for melancholia. Deep ridges in the forehead are indicators of worry and thoughtfulness. A glint in the eye speaks of a mischievous, cheerful nature. Minute details such as a tilt and angle of the head can influence an interpretation – and so certainly does the sledgehammer-symbolism of the face hiding behind the hands.

Mind you – is this the sitter being *shy*and hiding behind his hands, or is this the sitter groaning inwardly and hiding his face in his hands for misplaced embarrassment along the lines of “WTF are you doing???” The interpretation depends on you, and no doubt you will see in it what you want to see, just as we always search for congruence in Armitage with what we feel, believe, hope, want and love. The glimpse of personality captured in a portrait is always open to interpretation to some degree – unless and until the sitter himself offers an explanation for his pose and how it might be interpreted. Chances are that Hassler said “Put your beautiful digits to your face, Richard.” And Armitage willingly complied.

However, this willingness is an important component in a shoot, especially when there is no location, no external context the sitter can relate to, but only a neutral backdrop in front of which he is being photographed. As a trained theatre actor Mr A is arguably used to using his imagination to dramatise a scene in order to act and emote. But how does that work off-stage, in a photography studio which is as artificial and context-less a “stage” can get? Like an actor in the theatre, the sitter relies on the photographer’s direction. I find it extremely fitting that both in theatre/film and in photography the term is the same, because essentially the photographer acts like a director. She gives instructions on how to look act for the camera. Once she has identified a part of the sitter’s personality that she wants to portray, she must help him find the pose/look and hold it for the release of the shutter that will capture it. The sitter, in return, must allow the interpretation, and be willing to act along.

While we do not believe anymore that the camera literally captures our soul, we are reluctant to give away our essence, or to have our weaknesses pictured. Being in front of a camera makes us feel vulnerable. We are relinquishing control over our interpretation. And we simply and literally feel on the spot and under scrutiny. We know that the photographer can see us in detail, yet all we see is the photographer obscured behind a big black piece of equipment. That imbalance of power – being seen while not seeing – makes us feel uncomfortable, vulnerable and insecure. To bridge that gap, photographers need to establish a connection with the sitter, counterbalancing the discomfort and insecurity, building trust and confirming good intentions.

The gesture of the hands in front of the face are an obvious metaphor for this dilemma – I do not want you to see me. It is not as easy as that in this image. Here, Armitage breaks the protective gesture by peeking through his hands. With his eyes connecting directly with viewer, he assumes part of the power. He knows we can see him, that we have the power of the unrestricted look at him. But by looking directly at the camera – at us – he is taking some of the control back. You look at me – I look at you. It almost seems as if he is turning the gaze back on us, while still keeping his hands as a shield between himself and the viewer. The gesture now is less a symbol of passive shyness but one of active defense. (If you want to push the interpretation further, you can apply the metaphor even more literally to Armitage and his role – not in the context of a photoshoot but of celebrity.)

Is this why the image speaks more to us than a polished beauty shot? The feeling of defenselessness transmitted in an image like this is certainly something that many people, particularly women?, can identify with. Any image is composed and made to push buttons. This one is not composed to sell any product (unless you want to call Armitage such) but has a clear *intention* of affecting the viewer emotionally in terms of the sitter’s personality. What exactly you interpret into it does not matter much – the objective was to illicit an emotional response, and with the use of a simple gesture, that has been achieved beautifully. Mind you, I would let Mr Armitage push my “buttons” any day, anyway. Even inadvertantly:

“Chin up a little bit, please. Ya, that’s it. Hold it.” Click. She pressed the shutter release and looked up from her camera at her subject again. Only 15 minutes into the shoot and she was already feeling hot. But strangely exhilarated, too. Photography does that. To outsiders the job often appears glamourous and privileged. Getting to photograph people is, of course, interesting and rewarding. Interacting with clients was what she appreciated about her chosen profession. Getting up close and personal required tact and sensitivity. A healthy dose of curiosity and the ability to light-heartedly swallow her pride helped to get along with the best and the worst of the clients. But she had been through enough years of studying and assisting, of making the tea and carrying the battery pack and the tripod, of sitting through hours of Photoshop until her eyes burnt, of adjusting the lights minutely to someone else’s specifications, to fully appreciate that photographing people was also a technical craft. That needed her undivided attention.

“Are you ok?”

She was yanked out of her meandering thoughts by her sitter.

“Sorry, Richard, just thinking. Back to you.”

He smiled at her and almost imperceptibly nodded from under his brow. “It’s intense work, isn’t it, photographing? “

“Portraiture is very intense work, yes. Very intimate, very personal. But it’s great when you like people.”

“Like people? Or do you need a personal interest in your model?”, he asked with a smirk.

“Oh God, don’t let me blush”, she thought. “Um, I guess the former. The latter would probably detract from the work in hand too much…”, she fumbled for words.

Clang! She had dropped the lens cap while exchanging lenses. Her fingers trembled. – “Why?” she thought to herself. She had done this hundreds of times before. It was not the first time she was shooting an attractive man. “Get a grip, woman, this is ridiculous!”, she chided herself. She finished clicking the 50mm prime onto the camera body and turned her attention back to her sitter. After some half-length shots it was time for some close-ups.

“I am shooting with a prime now, Richard”, she explained to him. “So that means I will have to physically move closer rather than have a zoom to get you bigger in my viewfinder, is that ok?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled absent-mindedly while rearranging his bottom with a wriggle on the barstool she had placed him on, “I am already getti… Eh, never mind.” He angled his head back down with a sharp jerk of his head and threw his hands to his face with a groan, while she let out a surprised gasp in response to what he had let slip. She grinned. He looked at her through his fingers, a burning mixture of curiosity and embarrassment in his half-obscured eyes. A faint blush had spread all over his face… She pushed the button.

~ by Guylty on November 19, 2013.