Camera Shy
Taking a snapshot
When I was up in Naryn last weekend, I got involved in an interesting conversation.
Maxim was with us and was talking about his hobby, photography, and showing off some examples of his work. As he tried to take a photograph of me, I, as usual, shied away. I don’t like having my photograph taken. I don’t think I am particular photogenic and I am rarely pleased with the result.
I am not alone in that … many people don’t like having their photo taken. My father and grandfather, for example, also disliked having their photographs taken.
It could be that we are afraid that “the camera doesn’t lie” and seems to catch us at an add moment , an unusual or unflattering angle when we have adopted an unfortunate or embarrassing posture. They seem to bring out features that we don’t emphasized
I once read that one reason people don’t like photographs of themselves is that the photographs never really reflect the image that we have of ourselves.
Apparently, there is also a physical aspect to this theory as well. We are used to seeing ourselves in a mirror which is, of course, a reflection – the right side of our faces appears on the left and vice versa. In photographs, however, we see ourselves as others see us – the left side of our faces appears on the left on the left of the picture. As our faces are not exactly symmetrical, so the mirror image that we are conditioned to seeing is in fact slightly different than the image which others see, and we sometimes find that those little differences are disturbing.
Some people don’t like having their photographs taken for religious reasons – some people used it think that it captured their soul and I have seen an argument that comes from the Amish: that “the Bible teaches it is wrong to have a graven of yourself”, (really? … I didn’t know that … where? … it seems to be based on the Second commandment), and so having a photograph of yourself is a sin.
One of the other people sitting at the table said that they thought I should welcome having my photograph taken, as they were important as keepsakes – to help remind one of events, people and places in times to come. Now, I understand that logic and I admit that I do like, from time to time, to look at the few photographs I brought with me when I came here from the UK. However, I made light of it saying that I had a perfectly good memory and when my memory was such that I needed photographs to remind me of something, I would probably end up pointing at myself and saying something like: “Who is that?”
The next comment, however, surprised me. Someone else said that people here in Kyrgyzstan don’t like having their photographs taken. I had to disagree with that. People here, generally, are not “camera shy” at all.
Once, I was in Almaty with a friend and we were taking photographs outside one of the main sightseeing spots, when an old lady positioned herself so that she was in the shot. She approached us and asked if it the camera was a “Polaroid”, (it was in the days before digital cameras). “No, sorry”. “Oh, what a pity. When will you be getting them developed?”, she asked. “Not until next week, when we get back to Bishkek.” “Can you send me a copy?”
On another occasion, I was travelling between Naryn and Djalal Abad when the vehicle got a flat tyre. Whilst the driver set about replacing the tyre, I and another passenger wandered off to take photographs and some locals came up and asked to be photographed … then asked how they could receive a copy.
Once, (again in Naryn, as it happens), I was a client who was taking photographs of people on the ski slopes just out of town, (they are not very steep or particularly long runs and, in fact, most people seemed to be tobogganing rather than skiing), and she made a point of standing to one side and calling the people she had photographed over to show them the pictures on the display of her new digital camera. She was a great hit. They loved it and wanted to pose for more shots.
And that is just a few examples of instances which immediately spring to mind as I am writing this.
People here value their photographs very much, even ones which are badly focused or where they are far in the distance and hardly visible. When you visit someone’s home, it is customary for them to fish out a small box of photos which they will happily go through, recounting in minute detail all the people shown in each and every picture, and the details of the occasion on which it was taken. If, as the old saying has it, “a picture is worth a thousand words” then people often have the thousand words to describe each of their photographs.
Unlike back in the UK, it’s not a chore to through the snaps … it’s actually quite interesting, maybe because each picture does indeed have a story associated with it.
The kids once asked if I had any photos of myself back in England, and they scoured them with great interest … asking me all sorts of questions about them, when and where each was taken, who were the people in them and so on. The funny thing is that they know those photographs almost as well as I do … and the other day when we showing them to a couple of their teachers, they rattled off all the stories, practically verbatim.
The reason that people have so few photographs is probably because, until recently, it was difficult to get them. There weren’t that many cameras around; they were expensive; manually operated requiring a certain amount of skill to achieve good results; the processing of the films and printing of individual pictures required special equipment and expertise and was relatively expensive. These days, digital cameras are much more prevalent; although they are still expensive, they have a lot more functionality and are easier to use; it is true that special equipment is still required to print individual pictures but that too is more generally available.
Much more to the point, the abundant presence of mobile telephones with built in cameras has meant that many, many more people now take photographs. Instead of fishing out a box of photos when someone comes round to visit, they can fish out their phone and flip though a multitude of snaps anywhere and anytime. If they want them printed and framed, that is still possible, but in fact they carry their personal photograph album round with them.
Younger people, in particular, are definitely not camera shy. Instead of posing sitting bolt upright or standing to attention as their elders are likely to do, they are much more likely to strike an outrageous pose and take similar delight every time that someone looks at the photograph as they did when they struck that particular stance.
There has been quite a bit on the internet recently about the ethics of taking photographs of people. Amongst the points raise are:
- If you happen to take a photograph with somebody in it, especially if it is not just a general view, (such as a street scene), or one in which they can be identified, then it is best to get their permission – ask.
- Respect the person’s privacy, their personal space and their feelings.
- Remember that there are occasions when it is not appropriate to take photographs …
- Think about the issues involved when it comes to paying people to pose for photographs. Personally, I am not sure about paying for photographs. I have done it – paying the old women sitting in traditional costumes outside the walled city in Hong Kong, or for the opportunity of holding an eagle on one of the beaches of Issyk Kul or in the Semyenovka valley, where it is obviously a business and way for them to earn a little extra income – albeit, sometimes, an a somewhat exaggerated price, but when it’s kids who have learned that they can sell a snapshot it seems tantamount to begging, and do we want to encourage this sort of behaviour?
It seems to me, however, that all the discussions I have seen have missed one important point: People really do value the photographs … so think about offering them a copy, (that might mean getting a name and address), but above all – IF you do say that you will send them a copy, please, please, PLEASE … do so.
Bishkek