Capturing Life
Photowalks, as people call it nowadays are the best opportunities to observe people around us.
Even though most of these photographs were made in the age before digital photography (in which you have the opportunity to review a photo instantly and decide whether it is good or bad), somehow I would always figure out whether I’d been able to get the moment I wanted. I suppose it was a matter of instinct and experience. This was why I never made contact sheets before printing my pictures; I would simply work from the negatives. I remember once Magnum was doing a book for their Contact Sheets series and when they asked me for my contacts, they were surprised to know that I had none. I eventually made one for them from a strip of negatives.
I prefer to take portraits in black and white. Colour makes for very average portraits. In black and white, the grey tones, highlights and contrasts that you are able to create enable you to bring out the strength of the expression in a person’s eyes or face.
Today, unfortunately, the age of the selfie has destroyed the art of portrait photography. These cell phones have wide angle lens which distort perspective. In order to take a good portrait you have to use a lens that does not distort perspective. Selfies are fun, but as portraits they are just silly.
There are some photographers whose portrait photography I have admired. Richard Avedon’s portraits, especially of his father, and Arnold Newman did some strong and stylized portraits that I admire. Henri Cartier-Bresson took some good portraits, although I suppose they were more studies from daily life rather than actual portraiture. Dayanita Singh does good portraits too.
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To end, I’d just like to say that I hope you’re able to see the essence of whichever person has been photographed in these pictures, rich or poor, famous or anonymous. The truth that lies beneath the public face is what makes a person interesting to me, and consequently makes for a compelling portrait.
Text and Pictures from Raghu Rai&’s People. With permission from Aleph Book Company
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