Assignment: Portait

For this assignment, we were asked to take a portrait of a Japanese person (and vice versa for the Japanese students in our class). To be honest I was rather nervous about it. You see, I am a very non-confrontational person, and I didn’t want bother someone else who might either be busy or not feel comfortable having someone take their photo.  In addition, due to my lack of experience with portrait photography, I wasn’t able to feel fully comfortable and at-ease with the whole process. Despite my hesitation, I finally scrounged up enough courage to ask my friend Haruka if she would be willing to let me take her portrait. I felt more comfortable asking her than I would feel asking some of my other Japanese friends, likely because I see her more often and outside of the classroom setting. I was very relieved when she happily agreed.  

I’ve seen Haruka a lot in the dorms, since she is my Resident Assistant, but I didn’t know the kinds of things that made her truly happy. I did know that she’s one of the sweetest people I know, she seems to enjoy spending time with all the international students in our dorm, and she works hard long into the night preparing for her TOEFL exam. After asking her at what times she feels the most happy or the most herself, I found out that she feels the most relaxed and happy when she is able to spend time slowly talking with her good friends. With that idea in mind, we considered taking the portrait of her while she was talking with her friends, but along with that came a few extra challenges. Because I was afraid to intrude on other people’s privacy and time, I was concerned about having an increased number of people involved in the portrait process. I also wanted to capture the natural atmosphere created by a casual conversation with her friends and avoid any possible notions that the situation may have been staged for the photograph.

Each time we met to try and take the shot, the setting just didn’t feel right and we had to postpone. Then, one afternoon after class I met with Haruka again. After failing to find the right feel once more, Haruka called her close friend who had been in the library for a while to see if she would mind helping us out. She too was happy to help. Haruka and her friend sat together at a table inside the Center for International Education building where I was told they often sit and chat. At first it was still slightly awkward for me to take photographs of them while they talked, but soon the feelings of awkwardness faded, and I was able to get this shot. I particularly like Haruka’s natural smile and how you can easily understand that she in having a conversation with a friend without distracting from her as the main focus of the portrait. I feel that the portrait brings out the charm of Haruka’s personality that she genuinely cares for others and that some of her best moments in life are those shared with her friends.

Even though this second photo is clearly during the same session, I find it interesting that the mood is still different. Both photos portray Haruka interacting with her friend, however the first one gives the impression that she is a sensitive listener while the second one shows her more actively engaging in the conversation and telling her friend something. Both photos together express a more full depiction of Haruka's interactions with her friends; good communication skills involve being both able to tell interesting things to others as well as being able to listen well when others have something they want to say.

Although I was intimidated by the assignment in the beginning, I feel that it was also a good experience for me to have. Haruka helped me to see one more time that I shouldn’t worry as much as I do. While I was prepared for the worst situation, most people aren’t so negative and will gladly do what they can to help you out. I just need to let loose a little and take another step further into the world of visual anthropology.