Everybody has a good side.
A side where their face looks like
"Yeah, that's how nature meant
it."
Everybody has a good time -
In between a blink and that
Wide-eyed "I'm demented"
Face that everyone gives to
The flash-stress of a camera
That wants to make us forever
When all we want is this
quiet, dying night of insides
(always our best sides) together.
I think that this poem grasps the concept of a typical, posed, smiling photo perfectly. This poem made me realize how ironic taking a posed picture is. The point is to try and grasp and capture a moment we cherish or find special but this moment is never the one where a person is standing still, smiling at a camera. So when we photopraph, let's say your best friend infront of an gorgeous sunset infront of the beach, that's not actually the true moment you are trying to capture. A posed photo cannot capture the feeling and sensations experienced in that moment. I chuckled reading "A side where their face looks like, / 'Yeah that's how nature meant it'". I can clearly recollect times taking group pictures with a bunch of girls and everyone fixing their hair, tilting their chin, and turning their shoulder in a touch just for the right angle. I now realize how unnatural trying to grasp a moment or person can be because if the person knows they're being filmed or photographed he or she tends to act less natural.
ReplyDeleteAlways take the photo before people notice the camera -- once they look, put it away. You'll get 90% crappy photos, but the ones you keep will be way more meaningful.
Delete