Folks Alone

It’s very hard to take a portrait of just one person on the Polaroid 20×24. At least for me. The person has to dominate the white space of the seamless in my studio and she/he has to feel comfortable. The person has no one to play off of and no one to reach out to. Except to play off and to reach out to me and to the camera. The person has to be comfortable standing, in her/his body. Comfortable w/ her/his posture. With the slouch, the uneven hips. Or comfortable sitting in a chair or on a setee. I let the person decide how to be. Whether to sit or stand. Whether to use this chair or that bench. I purposely collect odd chairs that might speak to different people. I am charming and empathetic and all business. All at attention. And I hope a lot. Hope that somehow the portrait will work. That my subject will be generous w/ herself/himself. That I will catch the wave. It really depends on the subject and me. How much we like each other and how much we want the portrait to happen.