The Pose

The aim for the lesson was to learn and understand how people present themselves in front of the camera and why we pose the way we do. When we pose we are making ourselves into a photograph.

"In front of the lens, i am at the same time: the one i think i am, the one others think i am, the one he makes use of to exhibit his art" - Barthes, R. (1980)

Joanna Lowry has written about how we "present our identity" in the moment of the pose. We inhabit poses that is expected from us. Poses come natural based on how we grow and live our lives.

"It is when we present ourselves to the camera that we become aware of the need to make ourselves into a picture and to take control of the account of our soul" Lowry, J. (2005)

A trending challenge going around on the internet at the moment is the mannequin challenge, where you get your friends and family to freeze their act and pose while someone walk around and with a film camera moving around the models. This is what the lecture started with so that we could get a further understanding. When we pose in front of a camera we make ourselves into a photograph. We compose ourselves and freeze an act. This turns the image into a text that can be analysed by others.

When photography first was invented in the 1800´s it was normal too sit still and look serious when you where professionally photographed, because any movement would blur the image. Today with the impact of social media people are much more aware of how to present themselves. We constantly take pictures of ourselves and other people, photography has become a disposable digital form. We learn from a young age how to present ourselves in any situation. We also inhabit poses that is expected from us.

"What do i do when i pose for a photograph? I freeze - hence, the mask like, often deathly, expressions of so many photographic portraits. I freeze as if anticipating the still i am about to become; mimicking its opacity, its stillness; photography´s mortification of the flesh" Owens, C (1992:210)

Rineke Dijkstra is a photographer that studied the pose. She wanted to see how people with different cultural backgrounds pose in front the camera. She took photos of different girls on the beach and gave them no other directions than to stand still. The girls still posed as they naturally would for a picture. The images shows how all the girls have learned to pose based on their cultural background.

Other photographers like Richard Avedon and Bettina Von Zwel studied how to "subvert" the pose. That mean they took photos of their model when they did not pay attention. They wanted to capture them before they had the chance to compose themselves.

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