Disclaimer: Shooting Victims is a portrait series by Benjamin Reed. No subjects were harmed in the making of this portrait.
Woody Allen. The only celebrity thus far to match completely with what I had preconceived. Intelligent, quirky, somewhat neurotic, pleasant and insightful…not a fan of being photographed.
It was a tag team shoot with photographer Liz O’Baylen in Beverly Hills just as his new film Vicky Christina Barcelona was coming into U.S theaters.
The same hotel set-up as so many others. Less than 15 minutes to pull something together and you’re out of the room. We put up a black background to kill the omnipresent wall paper and then started formulating the frame in our heads.
My thinking was to observe and see what I could pull from his direction. It was going to be in the presence of an American film legend, it had to be simple and about reflection. Woody is getting older yet still cranking out movies as fast as he used to. He is a timeless product of American culture and I wanted that to show. I wanted to shoot for black and white and capture a pensive mood.
I focused on that goal and tried to just be in the moment. It’s a blessing and a curse for me as a photographer. I develop a tremendous respect for a lot my subjects through what I consume of their work. And my work begins when they come in. You put on a show of personality and confidence…like you know exactly how you want the picture to work and everything will be fine. You never let them pull an ounce of incompetence from you even though it my be permeating in your mind. You shoot like crazy and try to calm your nerves and you never really think about who you’re photographing until it’s over with. That’s the curse. The blessing is having a split second of their personality with you to share for eternity. It’s a powerful thing.
When I’m asked, "How was it shooting (fill in the blank celebrity)?" I often don’t have a good answer because I become so engaged in the process…making the best image I can and being as professional as possible. I know what they were like when I met them, how they treated me and others around them, and how they looked when I walked away. It’s a strange thing. My understanding of who they are is often shaped by the image I capture. My personal reflection on my own work. That mental picture I’ll take to the grave. And it’s that realization that helps me understand the power of photography. The blessings and the curses.
The Monk
