Character Study

I like to pick up strangers.  Sometimes I’ll walk into a room, usually a cafe, and my eyes would fall on someone, and I’ll get fixated.  I tend to believe it’s their energy I’m drawn to.....their quiet confidence.

Then I’ll spend the next 10 minutes mustering the nerve to go talk to that person.  As I introduce myself, I study their face, their eyes, the tiniest shift in their body, and then somehow I see beyond their physical presence.  I get excited because there’s something intriguing there, and I want to see more, and know more.

Then I pop the question, “Would you allow me to do a character study of you?”

A character study allows me to do more than merely capture a person’s face.  It enables me to dig deeply into one’s personality and gain insight into the essential nature of the person.  Their movements, their expressions, all reveal an unspoken story.

Aaron, my subject in these photos, is amazing.  He laid his emotions bare before the camera, and I was rewarded not only with these photos, but also with stories of his incredible life of fortitude.  But most importantly, we both walked away from this photo shoot with a genuine friendship.

Normally I edit my portraits down to 1-4 images, but I think it’s important in a character study to show a series of images to examine the process of unveiling....a process in which the subject (Aaron) grapples with the question of personal identity and gradually sheds his external layers to find the core of his being.