Camera Face

I know, pool, but this isn't a pool post. Bear with me a sec...

Take a look at just the first fifteen seconds of this match between Josh Filler and FSR. When the video opens we see the stills photographer set up and ready, with just a few seconds to get his "grip and grin." Watch how the competitors perform their roles by putting on "camera faces," as they've done many times before, and then taking them right off again. Josh Filler in particular, as a child phenom who transitioned to major champion, is practiced at this—even though he's only 24, he's been in many finals.

I don't know, it just struck me as something you try to avoid when taking more personal pictures of people. Although it's perfectly appropriate in the circumstances. My mother had a distinct "camera face" that she put on when the camera was pointed at her.

Compare that to, say, Braylen Dion's portrait of sculptor Simone Leigh in The New Yorker. The picture appears to be casual and almost offhand, which I tend to like. The portrait had me studying her face for clues to her personality. Simone's expression is not a camera face.

Braylen's portrait (here's a great shot at his website) reminds me of a tip from a famous photographer I read many years ago—I think it was Brassai, although I'm not sure. (Ten years ago I would've remembered where I read it.) What he said was something about trying to steal an exposure of his subjects "in between" the faces they put on for the camera, so that their real selves could come through.

I might not know where I read it, but I've always remembered the thought.

Mike

Book o' the Week

 All About Saul Leiter. The Amazon writeup for this book says "Photography lovers the world over are now embracing Saul Leiter"—and oh boy, is that ever true of me—"who has enjoyed a remarkable revival since fading into relative obscurity in the 1980s." One of my favorite photographers. Beautiful photopoems. Saul's Early Color (which you can still get for around $300) was one of our all-time bestselling book links. (I bought two, one to thumb and one to not touch!)

This book link is a portal to Amazon.

Link to B&H

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Peter Conway: "At the risk of turning this political, which is not at all my intent, I've always felt that Donald Trump was the unhappiest president in my lifetime. Sure, you could find thousands of photos of him smiling, but they all looked like plastic, 'put-on' smiles, just like in the video. Then one day I came across this article in The New York Times, with a picture of Trump playing catch with Mariano Rivera, and it struck me that this was the first picture I had ever seen of him smiling, where he appeared to be genuinely enjoying himself. In the end it did nothing to change my opinion of him, but still, on some level, it was nice to see someone who never really seemed to show joy, appear to be happy in the moment, with no camera face."

Dave Richardson: "This post showed up in my Apple News feed. That’s two of your articles there in the last couple of weeks."

Mike replies: Cool.

David Glos: "Once again, you have sent me into a beautiful rabbit hole. Despite a strong affinity towards art, I don't follow the modern art world to any degree. But, that article was a beautiful portrait of a powerful force of humanity, and stirred a longing to seek out the work out of Ms. Leigh.

"I was also able to find the image mocking Oscar Wilde that Simone is making a tableau of. See here. Looking forward to her sculptural interpretation of the scene."

Bill Poole: "It's hard to escape the notion that the Braylen Dion photo is intended as a triple portrait of the sculptor with the two sculpted heads. Brilliant environmental portraiture."

Patrick J Dodds: "Resting Bitch Face? Welcome to the club."

Mike replies: I'll link to the original video, since it's such a classic,—featuring Milana Vayntrub, who was "Lily" in the AT&T commercials. (You can tell I haven't had a TV recently—even my TV commercial references are outdated.)

TC: "It's an interesting question, and I've been contemplating writing an article on it. From a filmmaking standpoint, some of the most 'authentic' reaction shots I got in a feature I directed came from actors in between takes."

Comments

[Ilkka]

I think grip and grin says it all. It is different from a good portrait, or street photography.

[Dean Johnston]

Hi.

Yesterday, I didn't buy a lens. The fiscal board wasn't feeling too happy about the idea. So today, the commiseration department, which I head, bought both All About Saul Leiter and Forever Saul Leiter. Fifty odd dollars will slip through the budget cracks far easier than 75mm worth of f1.25. Might not even have to fall back on blaming my enabler...

Peace & all that.

[Dean Johnston]

Hi again.

Back onto the topic of the post, and not the book recommendation, I don't know why, but I have always had the habit of turning or glancing back one more time to say farewell. I tend to turn back and say goodbye once again, or nod or something, just as I step away.

For better or worse (i.e. usually one or the other), it can be revealing. People with a 'face' drop it pretty quickly.

:-)

[Gary Nylander]

As a former newspaper photographer, I have photographed my share of "grip and grin" photos at various events, politicians, sports celebrities, or other local notables. These people know how to put on their "camera faces" and they are good at it! They usually know when the camera is trained on them and it was sometimes difficult to get a good portrait of them looking more natural or relaxed when I was trying to make an interesting or compelling portrait.

[Tony McLean]

Irving Penn's wonderful portrait of Igor Stravinsky comes to mind. I don’t know whether the story about the mouse is true but if it was, then it was a masterful distraction.

[Mike Ferron]

Mike this “gentleman’s” version of a smile reminded me of the old veteran known in the UFC as smilin’ Sam Alvey who enters the ring with a grin like he just was chosen as a contestant on The Price is Right. It quickly changes when the fight starts. The first 35 seconds are all that is needed.
(Don’t watch if you don’t like seeing people hit each other.)
https://youtu.be/3ckVunAtg-8

[Sean]

Two of my friends recently completed the annual 10k race in my city. Various pictures of them were taken throughout the race, and in almost every shot, their face says: “I’ve entered a 10k by mistake”

Behind my friend, was a female entrant who looked prepped for a photo shoot. No eye-bulging grimace for this track star who had stepped off Mount Olympus to remind my pal of their mortality as she bounded by their red and regretful face. But the track star finished 5 minutes behind my gasping friend. Maybe the Olympian saved something back to ensure she had a good photo from the day. Human after all

[Jeff Markus]

Helmut Newton had a Canon 35mm point+shoot, their first all auto (focus, exposure, wind) model, which he called his party camera. Over the front lens retaining ring there was a white label on which was printed, in all caps with a black sharpie, MAGIC CAMERA. He said that it was very effective in making people laugh.

Brassai was a very dear friend of the Newtons. Helmut told me that, when he and June had first come to Paris, Brassai had done his utmost to get them quickly settled there. He took Helmut around to meet all the photo editors and art directors, helped them to find an apartment, bought them meals and loaned them money.

[Wiley]

Cartier-Bresson wrote something very similar to this in the preface to his Tete-a-tete book of portraits.

Very good photo book, which I just returned to the library or else I’d hunt up the paragraph!