Photography News | Issue 51 | photographynews.co.uk
19
Interview
community including young, old, male and female, whilst still maintaining the original ethos of the project; photographic portraits of the interesting characters that reside in this community. Once the number topped the 100 mark I realised I needed to bring the project to a close, and I set a deadline for the exhibition and book launch of September 2017. This was decided in January 2017, and gave me enough time to finish capturing the last few subjects in order to complete the project. How did you decide on which subjects to photograph? Initially, I focused largely on the older generation, who have lived in Thaxted all or most of their lives; WW2 veterans, farmers, and of course being Thaxted, a plethora of Morris Men. Once I realised that this was no longer just a project but a book and exhibition, I widened my net to incorporate a larger cross- section of the community, and to show the vast array of personalities living in Thaxted – both young and old. Why did you decide to photograph some subjectswithin a studio and location setting? Fromtheverybeginningof theproject, Iwanted to undertake a location and studio shoot for all subjects to highlight the often differing
Right Stuart Levey moved to Thaxted in 2006. He enjoys time with his family, his chickens and working on his cover drive – he is a very keen cricketer. Below Dr Clare Wilde was a competitive endurance rider, author and editor. She is now a full- time artist while also continuing to play in a band.
when someone has had enough, or when you have the shot in the bag and it’s time to pack up.
Do you have a favourite portrait from the book? If I had to pick a favourite it would either be Jane Helme, an artist on location in a barley field on the outskirts of Thaxted, or Ella Caton on horseback jumping over a fence at her paddock on the farmwhere she lives. What did you learn through the process of this project? I learned a great deal about location lighting, and blending ambient light with studio flash to create different looks and feels. I also honed my ability to create images almost anywhere, regardless of any constraints of the lighting or location. Finally, and most importantly, I am very comfortable developing rapport with my subjects in order to get the very best out of them during the shoot.
You definitely need to be a people person to be successful with portraits and you need to be able to recognise when the moments are happening to ensure you get the best shot sides to their lives, personalities, occupations and pastimes. It was also a great way for me to develop my own skills in both studio and location lighting. What technical and people skills do you need to have when it comes to shooting portraits? Firstly on the technical front you need to be completely au fait with your equipment. When you have a subject in front of you ready to be photographed, nothing kills the mood quicker than messing around with camera settings, adjusting lights, or looking at the back of the camera with a quizzical look on your face! If your gear is set up, you’ve carried out your test shots andyouknoweverything is going towork as you’ve planned, you can focus on the subject and get themost out of them. You can also focus onmaking the experience an enjoyable one. All of the studio shots were taken using a tripod, with me looking over the top of the camera chatting with the subject and looking for great expressions and moments to capture. People react to people, and generally speaking, staring at a lens doesn’t create a great expression. The location portraits were more about the lifestyle of the person, so I had to sometimes coax, and then coach them into what I wanted. Having already interviewed each person and explained the premise for the shoots, I found everyone very accommodating which made it easy to get the results I wanted. You definitely need to be a people person to be successful with portraits and you need to be able to recognise when the moments are happening to ensure you get the best shot. Everyone has a threshold for being photographed and it’s important to recognise
Buy the book
Thaxted’s People costs £60 and is available locally at Gifted in Thaxted and Harts Books in Saffron Walden, or via amazon.co.uk and through andygriffinphotography.com/thaxteds- people/
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