FaceTime Portraits for the Washington Post

I recently shot portraits for an editorial for the Washington Post Magazine via FaceTime

FaceTime Portraits for the Washington Post

A few weeks ago I was assigned by the Washington Post Magazine to photograph 19 subjects across the United Stated. The assignment was for a piece they were putting together highlighting positive stories during the Covid-19 pandemic. I photographed it all via FaceTime.

The subjects ranged from writer Margaret Atwood to Park Ranger Jessica Korgie. From comedian Russel Peters to shop owner Ifat Pridan. An amazing range of personalities and I got to meet them all in their spaces. One on one! Surreal!!! I just dropped in on them in their homes!

Given a somewhat tight deadline the biggest challenge was scheduling all the subjects. I had done over 60 FaceTime portraits prior to this assignment so I felt comfortable once the call was on but getting it all sorted was another story.

A big Thank You to Dudley Brooks at the Post for having the vision to put this together!!!

Take a look here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/lifestyle/magazine/america-resilient-coronavirus-pandemic/?itid=sf_lifestyle-magazine

FaceTime Portraits

More Virtual Portraits photographed with FaceTime

Since my last post about my Virtual FaceTime Portraits a lot has happened on that front. At this point I have photographed 80 plus people with FaceTime photoshoots and I am still shooting almost every day. The Washington Post has assigned me with a story for which I had to photograph 17 people across the United States and I photographed a musical Quintet in the Netherlands.

FaceTime portrait

What I keep telling people is that as a portrait photographer I normally move intuitively around the subject. I adjust the cameras angle and position relative to the subject subconsciously, small movements can make a big difference. All of that I now have to do with words. When photographing the violin players for the Quintet in the Netherlands I was telling them that it is sort of like them telling someone how to place the fingers on the strings of the violin to play. I would argue that my results are a little bit better than what that situation would produce but you get the idea.

FaceTime Portrait

Another interesting development I have watched for the past weeks is that FaceTime photoshoots are happening all over the place now. To the point where companies like Nike are trying it out. Some photographers are projecting the FaceTime call onto surfaces of all sorts and then photograph the projection, some shoot it in color, some focus on professional models, it’s all over the place.
This brings me back to what I said in an interview with aphotoeditor.com about my project. While the technical quality of these shoots is mostly pretty rough, I believe this technique will be used in the future even past the Covid lockdown. Cameras on phones will get better, 5G will improve call quality and clients will think twice about flying someone around the world when they can just send a high end Iphone to the subject and do the shoot remotely. It will be niche, I am sure but I am also sure that it will be done. Technology just has to catch up a little bit more. Nobody had a PDA in the early 2000’s, then mobile internet allowed the Iphone to do what it did.

FaceTime Portrait

FaceTime Portrait

FaceTime Portrait

One think FaceTime does not seem to like at this point is movement. Subjects have to be rather still for the quality to catch up and not look glitchy. But with a great connection and a newer model device I have been able to get FaceTime Portraits that look amazing on a screen. They go through some post processing, sharpening and grain mostly, and then are completely usable for screen applications. I also printed some portraits and made collages and grids which I then photographed with my DSLR and got a high res file of.

FaceTime Portrait

FaceTime photoshoots force the photographer to dive deep into the creativity bucket and that’s why they are great! There is almost no control over technical aspects of the camera, no exposure, focus, or any other trickery. The photographer isn’t even holding the camera. I had people stick their device in the washing machine and shoot out of it, hide behind colored plexiglass and involve their spouses to act as moving tripods. It becomes a creative exercise for both, the photographer and the subject and especially during times of Covid lockdown offer a fun escape from being stuck at home.

FaceTime Portrait

FaceTime Portrait

FaceTime Portrait

FaceTime Portrait

FaceTime Portrait

FaceTime Portrait

Virtual Portraits

Virtual Portraits - photographed via FaceTime

It’s crazy times! But crazy times always bring with them new ideas, new angles of how to approach things, new ways to operate. Creativity is fueled by unease. Nothing like some rapids to get the boat moving.

All of that of course does not mask the fact that freelancers like myself are currently looking into the abyss. I have not had anything officially canceled as of now but I also had only a few things on hold… and I am doubtful those few things will happen. Seems like everyone froze. Well, what do you do?

Going back to creativity being fueled by unease, I came up with the idea to take portraits of people via FaceTime. I had never done this before, barely use my Iphone to take serious photos at all. But while in the rapids I’ll take any boat!

I did some research trying to figure out if the subject’s Iphone camera could be triggered remotely from my phone but found nothing. Given privacy concerns that made sense and I quickly put my desire for better quality aside and focused on simply taking portraits, no matter the quality. Pretty freeing. While the photography industry is arguably being disrupted by Iphone photography and amateur photographers who have challenged old wisdoms and hierarchies, this seemed a fun project to do. Show up to a stick fight with a stick.

It is really odd to not have control over the camera’s movements. Nor knowing the space the subject is in. I found directing the subject in posing as well as composing the frame to be quite challenging. Especially since the video quality of the call plummets dramatically once the phone is moving. Recognizing suitable backgrounds is not easy. I also quickly learned that I underestimated my attention to detail and skill for composure. I take all that for granted. I have been behind a lens for over 20 years. Now I needed to initiate and correct every move of the camera with words and not intuitively with my hands. Lots of trial and error. Overall the subjects have been doing well so far but it is definitely a completely new challenge.

One big take away is that this is super fun. Everyone has been excited to partake and there have been lots of laughs during the sessions which take about 10 min on average. There is a bunch of chatting about the current situation and how we cope, then there is some photography and then we wish each other well. It’s fantastic!

Here is a little video of bts of one of the shoots:

You can view more images from this project on a page I created for it. Follow the link HERE.