For many people, who start doing photography as a hobby, which later develops into a professional pursuit, their interests progress from shooting inanimate subjects (e.g. landscapes, architecture, stars) to nature to people (first street photos, events, then portraits). This was certainly the progression of my interests, from astrophotography and travel photos to sports and portraits. Naturally, photographing people means communicating closely with them, getting to know them, in other words, becoming involved with the subjects.
However, taking photography to a new level means involving people in your projects in a more general sense. Larger photoshoots require more elaborate production, which means working with more than one photographer, assistants, makeup artists, in addition to the models.
Even putting aside the logistics of production, my photo projects definitely benefit when they involve people. For example, taking the photo above of fishing with cormorants (ukai) was only possible because I talked about my plans to do travel photography around Nagoya with my neighbour on the long flight to Japan. It turned out that she was from Inuyama, and suggested it as a destination. When I got there, I stretched my Japanese ability to the limit to make a reservation of the ukai boat tour. Initially, the tour company was reluctant to take me, as they did not have an English-speaking guide that day, but my willingness to talk to them and explain that I was interested in photographing the fishing action more than having a dinner on the boat convinced them that I would be able to handle a tour in Japanese.
Generally, having other people involved in photo projects adds many motivating aspects:
- Collaborating with others boosts creativity.
- Having others by my side helps me avoid technical mistakes.
- Having others involved creates accountability, which helps me follow through on the plans.
- Without the support of other people, many shoots would simply be impossible. For example, my wife is deeply involved in most creative projects, from brainstorming shoot lists and posing ideas to arranging the props and other logistics. Last, but certainly not least, she takes care of our daughter when I go out on long shoots during weekends.
Someone noted recently that all we do in our lives is, ultimately, communicate with other people one way or another. With my photo projects, I plan to do so more actively and consciously by getting people involved at all stages.
