My Close Ups Project
I NEVER PLANNED to do a series of street headshots. It began by chance in March with this photo. I needed to lose weight, so I decided to take walks at lunchtime during the workweek and brought my Fuji X100T along. I ran into this guy not five minutes into the first walk and asked if I could take his picture. "No one's ever asked to take my picture before," he said. "Sure, why not?" So I quickly took some shots, none great, shook his hand and thanked him, and off he went.
With his scarf and glasses, I couldn't have asked for a better subject. Rendered small, the photo is fine. But its flaws come out when you blow it up. That's why I left it out of the project.
I knew I was on to something good as soon as I took this first picture. One street portrait led to another and now I'm up to around two dozen. I try to shoot every day. Right around noon, when the light is awful. I've been lucky it's been so overcast.
I'm surprised at how open people are to having their photo taken by a stranger. (Women, not so much. That'll be the subject of another blog post.) Part of it is choosing who to ask. I'm on the lookout for people who are photogenic; the ones who stand out in a crowd. I think by nature they're more open to being shot.
I'm getting right up into people's faces with the camera. My subjects have been great about it and I'm pleased with how the photos are turning out. I hope you enjoy them.