I don’t think I’m alone when I struggle being comfortable in front of the lens. Standing in front of a camera requires the subject to be vulnerable to the camera and the photographer. While this seems a little intense when you’re just asking a friend to snap a pic but it involves a lot of trust. We use photos to make judgements of ourselves and others whether we have seen them in person or not. From your Tinder profile holding a fish you just caught, to your LinkedIn photo we all try to manipulate the persona that shines through in photos.
The photographer is given a lot of control of how the person on the other side of the lens looks whether we really think about it. This can take really small forms like your mom telling you to smile when taking a photo, or a friend rotating around you in order to get the right angle. Your mom wants you to be happy and your friend wants you to look your best and with this intention in mind they manipulate the truth of the photo for the better. Their love takes on a visual presence and translates into the confidence you feel when you see that photo of yourself.
In contrast, whenever I bite the bullet and pass my camera to a stranger to take a photo of me, it doesn’t seem to look quite like myself. If they are able to actually get an image, I always end up looking uncomfortable and like a stranger to myself.
This week I am posting a collection of photos of myself from past rolls of film. Every time I take a roll of film I try to ask a friend to take a photo of me too. Each roll of film has its own color story and theme, and I love to see how each roll changes the way I look while also showing another side of me. These photos remind me of who I am, and how I can change in my environment either to hide or show more of myself. These photos were taken by people I love and it shows how comfortable and free I look in each photo.
1 Roll a Week 