ASSIGNMENT 20

Photographing the Back of People

ASSIGNMENT

You’ve probably done it a lot inadvertently, especially in your early days of street photography. Photographing the back of people is a common technique because it is less intimidating than photographing people coming at you. If you look back at those photos, most of those pictures were probably not so intentional. For this assignment, I would like you to go out and intentionally photograph a person with their back turned to you. The important part of this assignment is to keep in mind that the subject you choose to photograph should be a better choice from the back than facing you. Note that it takes a much stronger subject to make this type of photograph successful, because you will not have facial expressions to tell the story.

TECHNIQUE

A successful photograph of someone’s back will require discernment. To be effective, the subject must have something extra to offer. It may be a hat or an umbrella, two people holding hands, or an interesting gesture. The way the subject is dressed should also be interesting. Maybe there is a connection between the subject and the environment. I also recommend this technique when photographing children in order to preserve their anonymity.

Film Noir / St. Paul, Minnesota, 2016

One evening in the winter, I saw this well-dressed gentleman standing in front of the stunning architecture of the train station in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was on his phone. That fact alone makes for a rather boring photograph. I went behind him and photographed him with the architecture in the background. The resulting image is seemingly timeless and quite reminiscent of film noir movies.

Fujifilm X-Pro2, 35mm, f1.4, 1/80 sec., ISO 1600

Watching the Locks / Paris, 2017

When photographing a child, I take extra care to protect their anonymity unless I get a nod of approval from a parent. This young boy was watching the locks at Canal St. Martin in Paris. It was crowded and I framed him with the canal in the backdrop to give a sense of mystery and wonderment.

Fujifilm X100F, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 200