“Just Be Yourself”
Sometimes, but not often, when I am getting ready to take a picture of someone, after I have asked if they would mind, they ask me what I want them to do, such as: should I pretend that I don’t know you are taking a picture of me? Should I look over this way? What should I do?
My answer has been: “Just be yourself”. Today, when I was in one of those situations, and as I heard myself say “Just be yourself”, I knew that it would not do to ever say that again. What does “Just be yourself” even mean? Be authentic? Be the real you? Do what you want? Be whoever you are? Any of that is too much to hear from a stranger on a street corner wielding a camera.
Maybe, in that moment, after the question “What do you want me to do” has been asked, I should just come in close and take a picture of someone who is in a state of uncertainty, or maybe not come in close at all. Maybe the asking of the question “What do you want me to do”, in and of itself, is at the heart of who that person is, but maybe not. If it seems that the case is that the person is feeling uncertain, I had better pay attention, and not necessarily provide an answer at all, and either back away and not record the moment at all, or, as I said above, move in close and take that initial picture, if it seems that it is not an intrusion.
By not recording anything, other than acknowledging my own situation, one which I created, the encounter is probably finished, and no one has a very good feeling about it: or, is it finished?
Maybe there is a way forward after I blunder. Maybe by lowering the camera for a moment, and actually helping the person who has asked for help, things could get back on track. By giving a little direction, or simply chatting for a bit, and forgetting about taking a picture, things can move along. It is complicated, and then it isn’t at all.
Today, once we both turned our attention to the season, and the beauty of colorful leaves spinning down ever so lightly to the ground, with just a little bit of wind, we were communicating. The camera did not help us communicate, but we managed anyway, and the day was better because of that; and there would be other photographs to take later, and maybe next time someone asks “what do you want me to do”, I will think more slowly about what they have said, look more closely at them for some guidance as well, and see where it leads.
