Behind or In Front of the Camera

[wlotus]

Writers' Block asks if we prefer being behind the camera or in front of it. I prefer being behind it...unless I am operating the camera. It's because I don't trust how people view me through the lens. But when I am operating the camera, I have complete control over how I look in the final draft...and no one ever need see the outtakes, if I don't want that.

That's a surface commentary on how little trust I have in how society at large portrays me and how much I resent their justifications for the less-than-flattering presentations. But those thoughts are too deep to put here.

Comments

[silveringridd.livejournal.com]

i agree with you 100%. you'll rarely ever see a photo here that i've posted of myself that has not been taken myself. photos taken by others never represent me as i see me. wow. it's funny you mention this. i was just thinking abou tit.

also. when i'm taking the photos myself, i sit, stand, kneel, pose the way i want to be seen. if i don't want anyone to see anything other than my face, i don't have to. other people get behind the camera and capture me looking like a monster i've never seen. it's so weird.

i used to think i have issues. now i feel better. i'm not the only one :)

[phenomenull.livejournal.com]

I agree. I prefer to be behind the camera too.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

I like being behind the camera too.

One of the assignments for one of my photojournalism classes was to submit a picture of yourself, at work as a photographer, but taken by someone else. It had to be a candid shot, and had to be good. And it was the person who took the photograph who would select it.

The teacher said the reason he included this assignment was so we would understand the effect we had on people when we pointed a camera at them.

[rockbirthedme.livejournal.com]

I'd always prefer to be behind the camera. But I also prefer to take shots of things, rather than people. There's a trick to taking flattering photographs (or at least not taking *unflattering* photographs) and I've never learned it. I don't like pictures of myself (I can think of maybe four photos of myself that I've liked in my whole lifetime), so I prefer not to be responsible for pictures of other people.

You know what I hate about photos? In the mirror I look *fine*. I really do. I'm happy about how I look. Something about a camera takes that and skews it all over the place. I know it's the camera, not me, but I don't feel like looking at it.