{"id":28461,"date":"2015-05-05T12:34:56","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T16:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=28461"},"modified":"2019-05-26T22:34:03","modified_gmt":"2019-05-27T02:34:03","slug":"photographing-portraits-personal-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/photographing-portraits-personal-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographing portraits with a personal connection"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photographing portraits\u00a0with a\u00a0personal connection<\/h1>\n

Of all\u00a0the\u00a0portraits I’ve taken over the years, this photo is one of those that I am most proud of –\u00a0my friend\u00a0Petra Herrmann. This photograph shows her strength as well as\u00a0vulnerability.<\/p>\n

I’d mention her sense of humor, and her warmth and kindness .. but she’d just tell me to fuck off. So there’s that. But it’s true. She’s a remarkable person and friend … and I am glad she’s going to be around much, much longer.<\/p>\n

Petra is a well-known\u00a0boudoir photographer in Kansas City<\/a>.\u00a0Somewhere late in 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Even though Petra is still going through the second round of chemo, the good news is that it looks like she is bouncing back from it, with the\u00a0prognosis very good.<\/p>\n

This photo was taken in March 2015, while at a photography convention in Las Vegas. Catching up during a long afternoon of conversation and laughter, I asked if I could take photographs of her. I felt it was important that we capture this. This time in her life.\u00a0I loved the series of photos then, and even more so now. There is a quietness and strength there – and as much as friends can rally, this is a solitary battle.<\/p>\n

Perhaps with portraits where there is connection and intimacy, it becomes this transaction between the photographer and subject – a deeper, unspoken conversation taking place during the taking of the photographs. And it has more to do with your subject<\/em><\/strong> giving you those more revealing moments, than it has to do with your technical skills as a photographer. Then the\u00a0existing friendship and trust can fortunately take precedence – and with a little bit of help with the photographer’s personality to elicit some response – create an evocative portrait. In other words, the success of this photo has much more to do with Petra ‘giving’ me this photograph, than me taking it.<\/p>\n

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Guest posts by Petra<\/h2>\n