Do you know CHRIS BUCK?
He’s a highly regarded Canadian photographer known for his distinctive and creative style in portraiture. He has photographed many notable figures in popular culture, politics, and entertainment, including Barack Obama, Tina Fey, and Radiohead, among others. Buck has won numerous awards for his work, including the Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture and the Canadian National Magazine Award for Best Portrait Photography. He has also published several books featuring his photography, such as “Presence: The Invisible Portrait” and “Uneasy: Portraits 1986-2016”. Buck is also a sought-after speaker and teacher, offering workshops and lectures on photography around the world. His workshops often focus on pushing photographers to think beyond traditional portraiture and explore new, surprising ways of capturing human subjects. Unfortunately, those workshops are rare events, and I’m lucky to have been able to attend the one in Los Angeles this February.
Creating Stunning Portraits
During the first day, Chris shared his story and gave us lots of bits of advice. In the afternoon, we paired with another attendee to photograph each other. The expectations were to produce quality work that was different from my traditional work. He surprised us with a demonstration at the end of the first day. It was eye-opening to see Chris working. He took time to build the best portrait. Chris asked his assistant if he was ok to squeeze between a fence and a palm tree. The place smelled of dog piss, but the visual was stunning. The greys of the tree trunk and the fence made the human pop. Chris wasn’t afraid that his model wasn’t comfortable. This, for me, was mindblowing because I’ve always set my goal to make my subject laugh. That’s when I have the best expression. But Chris is looking for more emotion and vulnerability. As a result, his work is surprising, uncomfortable, and row. The final image was beautiful. I’m humbled to witness the creation of a fabulous portrait.
On the second day, Chris assigned each of us a specific assignment. He made us dig deep out of our comfort zone. He noticed that I like to be safe. I apply a recipe that makes my work outstanding in what I do. So he asked me to produce five portraits in his style, but only two had to be extraordinary. I enjoyed the assignment a lot. I was very proud of my work, and here are my two most surprising portraits of the workshop.
