People often wonder how come they are not photogenic whereas others are. This term, photogenic, always puzzled me. A quick search on internet gives the following definition: looking attractive in photographs or on film. Right, so one must look attractive but what defines attractiveness, beauty etc.
I am not quite sure what the standards are but for me humans are simply beautiful. In summer 2020 I had the pleasure of spending time with an ex-student of mine Giovanni. It was a weird summer, as usual very hot and the only place where we could hang out was my studio. I was also in the phase of studio photography – I really wanted to nail studio lighting and Giov was my muse. Giov was the one I had conversations with whilst experimenting and shooting.
The fun we had, the conversations we had are irreplaceable. And thanks to Giov, my fear of the studio subsided and for the first time in my life I could shoot with no fear that paralysed me. Nowadays, I can easily say that I love studio photography too.
But let’s discuss portraiture. I lecture portraiture however whether this genre can be taught or not is debatable. Technically everything can be taught, but do we manage to capture one’s spirit or soul within the photograph? Now this is the crux of this genre. What or who can tell if this has been captured or not? And how can something intangible be represented in a photograph? Barthes argues about the stadium and punctum in his book titled ‘Camera Lucida’. Studium is what the photograph is about, the subject if you like, however the punctum is something intangible, or if represented tangibly, its signs and symbols are what ‘prick’ you, makes you gasp, feel something, get moved. I suppose that we can look at images in either way. A photo can have punctum for one person but not the other. Punctum is tied to memory, to feelings, to that which we can’t fathom out but can surely feel. What makes a photo unique is that which cannot be defined yet is incredibly subjective to the viewer – ‘The punctum of a photograph is that accident which pricks me (but also bruises me, is poignant to me’ (Barthes, 1980).
So, in this short series titled ‘Conversations with Giov’, I shot Giov discussing stuff with me, while I listened and shot. You can say that I was also conversing but with images rather than with words – just a different medium right? This is the output of that session. Do these images ‘prick’ you like they ‘prick’ me? Even if you knew Giov, these portraits might not have punctum for the viewers, but it’s all subjective, and what matters at this point is that these images ‘prick’ me.
Can portraiture be taught? Yes sure, the technique for sure. The settings, the poses maybe, the lighting…all this can be taught which is a big chunk of this genre, however the punctum remains elusive. It depends on the viewer and the relation with the subject.
See the whole series here