[Leica] Dehumanizing portraits?

[leica at web-options.com (Bob W)]

I think they're fascinating. If you compare the style to the usual type of
portrait of senior politicians, which are typically shot in the heroic mode,
I think you have something which tries to be rather more honest. They're not
in all cases flattering - some of them look like your worst nightmare
passport photo - but it looks as though the people are at least trying to
present themselves honestly. This in itself may be spin, of course. They
look a little bit like freshmen, which in a sense they are. It will be
interesting to see how they all look in 4 years.

Bob 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+leica=web-options.com@leica-users.org 
> [mailto:lug-bounces+leica=web-options.com@leica-users.org] On 
> Behalf Of Brian Reid
> Sent: 18 January 2009 19:57
> To: LUG@leica-users.org
> Subject: [Leica] Dehumanizing portraits?
> 
> The New York Times magazine just ran a set of portraits of 
> "Obama's People"
> 
>   
> http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/magazine/2009-inauguratio
> n-gallery/index.html
> 
> It feels to me as though the photographer went out of his way 
> to make all of his subjects look unnatural and bizarre. They 
> are posed awkwardly, the lighting is very peculiar, the 
> camera angles are unusual, and the subjects were usually 
> photographed off-guard.
> 
> What does anybody else think? Was the photographer here 
> trying to create a negative perception of these people?
> 
> 
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