Chapter 80 Capturing Vitality
Every photographer has his own style and characteristics, and what Bruce is best at is capturing emotions/emotions.
He strives to capture the emotions within the photographic subjects and honestly express the elements of personality. Through the lens, he is always able to capture those fleeting subtle and delicate emotional fluctuations. This is what he considers the most precious thing about the characters. It is also a way for photography to give time a different meaning.
This is why "GQ" asked Bruce to help fill the vacancy, even though they knew that Bruce had already completed two suit themes in a row.
If anyone can capture different qualities and different colors within the same suit theme, then Bruce is undoubtedly the best choice.
Bruce caught Anson's nervousness immediately.
But Anson gave an unexpected answer.
"No, I'm not nervous. I'm just... stiff."
If you think about it seriously, this sentence is also true.
Bruce twitched the corner of his mouth slightly, but failed to reveal a smile. He shook his head in denial, "You care too much about the camera."
Anson didn’t understand, “I thought you should look at the camera when taking pictures.”
Here, a psychological concept is involved, the fourth wall.
When watching a stage play, the left and right directions of the stage and the rear canopy constitute the three walls of the entire space, and the remaining one direction is the audience seat.
So, the fourth wall is an assumed invisible wall between the stage and the auditorium. This transparent wall separates the audience and the actors.
If the actor is aware of the existence of the fourth wall, he can concentrate on the performance and ignore the presence of the audience.
If the audience ignores the existence of the fourth wall, they can immerse themselves in the performance and ignore other influencing factors.
Because of this, in the filming of TV and movies, the actors' eyes need to avoid the camera as much as possible to avoid breaking the fourth wall and destroying the immersion, unless it is carefully designed by the director to use the fourth wall Make a fuss and create different forms of immersive experiences.
But flat shooting is different.
The model needs to look directly at the camera, break the fourth wall with her eyes, communicate with the audience, and complete the emotional transmission. This is a very important action.
Although it was the first time for Anson to be both an actor and a model, he still understood the basic theory and did not make simple basic mistakes.
So, what's the problem?
Opening method, what went wrong?
Bruce did not respond.
He knew that Anson was right. Flat shooting does require communication with the camera. Although body language also plays an important role, the power of eyes cannot be ignored. Just like the finishing touch, eyes are always needed in the end.
However, paying too much attention to the camera will lead to stiffness of the body and expression, which not only destroys the overall balance, but also completely fails to capture Anson's charm and temperament. Even the smile at the corner of the mouth cannot reach the depth of the eyes.
The works shot in this way have no vitality.
So, how should we measure it?
This is a subject for models, and it also requires guidance from the photographer. The words had already come to his lips, but Bruce noticed a detail -
At this moment.
This is the moment.
When the shooting stopped, there was no flash or shutter, and he was separated from the shooting state. The moment Anson opened his mouth to respond, his energy returned. Just like black and white turning into color, the vivid and bright Anson broke free from the constraints of the paper and came to life.
So magical.
Bruce swallowed the words abruptly, without responding or paying attention. He pressed the shutter again with his right index finger to capture the moment in front of him.
Click!
The air is quiet.
Anson:? ? ?
The shutter and flash interrupted Anson's inquiry. He was completely caught off guard and looked at Bruce with a surprised face, "What are you doing?"
Bruce had an idea.
“Don’t pay attention to me, don’t care about the camera, treat the space in front of you as a playground, move around, don’t fixate or pose, move according to your own ideas, let go, leave the rest to me.”
Anson realized at this time that he still lacked experience. Was Bruce letting him go crazy and have fun in the studio? Bruce didn't give Anson time to think, and waved his hands to indicate, "Move, don't be restrained, do you need music? You can dance by yourself."
Anson lowered his head and looked at his own style——
Suit.
This is a suit rather than sportswear, how should he move?
Moreover, unlike the usual casual suits, this suit is very slim-fitting, and you can feel the restraint everywhere from shoulders to elbows to waist.
If he exerts a little force, it feels like his clothes are about to tear. How should he move?
All the questions I have since time travel add up to less than half of what I have at this moment.
Subconsciously, Anson looked towards Gretel, gestured his appearance up and down, and asked with his eyes, "Are you sure?"
Bruce noticed it immediately. Without giving Gretel a chance to respond, "Move, don't worry about other things, just move to your heart's content."
It feels a little strange.
Anson had the illusion that he accidentally broke into a fitness class. Before he had time to figure out whether it was spinning or aerobics, the instructor started to move forward like a chicken.
Involuntarily, Anson began to move——
But how should he move?
Hip-hop?
He won’t.
The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous and funny he became. The whole situation was full of joy, but Anson finally moved, let go of his arms and legs and started to sway.
Yes, swinging.
Like a six-year-old child wearing his father's suit and pretending to be meeting in a conference room to make important decisions, wandering without purpose or direction.
In his previous life, Anson was frail and sickly as a child. He would have a fever if he was exposed to a little rain, would catch a cold if he was exposed to a little wind, and would suffer from vomiting and diarrhea if he ate the wrong food. His parents were worried about his health and once sent him to learn martial arts to strengthen his body. Physical fitness is not some Shaolin Kung Fu, that is, martial arts, boxing, fighting, etc.
Kung Fu or not, Anson has not tested it, but his body has indeed become stronger bit by bit; moreover, he has truly learned how to use his body.
Anson didn't expect that those things could be used now. Although the close-fitting suit was still awkward, the movements were really lively.
So, does this fall into the category of “getting the work done while having fun and making money along the way”?
Click. Click. Click.
Bruce is recording.
Of course, the camera in hand is a film camera. Professional photographers now do not and cannot work with digital cameras whose technology has not been fully developed.
Therefore, Bruce has no way to view his photos on the computer in real time, but he has eyes -
Observe with his eyes and feel with his intuition.
Having been a professional photographer for these years, five or six years from beginning to end, Bruce is best at capturing that vitality.
In Bruce’s own words, life force.
So he likes to photograph life.
Such as animals. Such as humans.
Use film to record the moment when life blooms, whether it is sadness, happiness, loss or joy, even if it is nothingness, it can be frozen.
At this time, Bruce was observing.
The situation has indeed improved, much better than the fixed-point modeling just now.
Anson, you should move, instead of being imprisoned in place like a statue.
But not enough.
Not enough.
First update.
(End of this chapter)