Let me take your picture

"Hey! You shouldn't photograph people thoughtlessly, uh? They are gonna appear to you every night after they'll die" A man warned me when I was photographing on the street in Okinawa, Japan. It's first time being threatened like that. I have taken at least thousands of portraits in my life. If they appear to my bed side one after another every night, it makes me insomnia, I'm sure. I'm so delicate person that these strong words becomes a trauma. However recently I noticed most of the people I photograph now are younger than me. I must die before them. So maybe I shouldn't so much care about the bedside ghost.
Just kidding. But it's pretty sure there are person who doesn't like photographing nor being taken picture. After all, it's not easy for taking portrait. You must know not only how to make a communication but also harmonizing each other.

Once I told the story to the younger. He said "You didn't feel chemistry each other" Chemistry? Yeah, The word sounded too light to describe it at first. But actually it was. Nevertheless we sometimes have some sort of guilt feeling when you take picture of people. Then create a make shift reason to the action.
I remember the words that my photo work shop teacher said. "You can release people from restriction by photographing them" I think it's too much weight on the photographer side, so selfish.
On the other hand, photographer Nobuyoshi Araki said on his essay. "The things that I can give to the subject people is pride" At first, I thought it's a pride what they were taken portrait by famous photographer. But it's my misreading. It meant "Photographer can give the pride, or self-confidence, to the subject" I strongly agree with the words although my approach isn't such sophisticated. "Trust me""I can photograph you in beautiful" The goal is same. If my model feels happy or having pride with the photo shooting, that is very pleasure to me. I feel it in real world.

So how about if I'm on the photo taken side? Actually, this kind of situations are increasing recently. "This is my first encounter to Japanese. Let me take your picture""Let me take picture with you as a souvenir of travel" People aimed at me with smart phone. No reason to reject it, just being taken. But I'm always disappointed with the results on the smart phone monitor. Who's this disgusting middle aged man? Then I lose all my pride. I even hate to see reflecting image on the mirror now a days. I must find another gray hair or another wrinkle. I feel like I'm degrading day by day. To the contrary, how looks great my models are! The young looks beautiful, handsome. The elder looks gorgeous, sophisticated or telling many stories. Where the difference comes form? Photographer's skill, uh?

Exposing the same number of my image as the number of portrait which I have taken is a kind of gruesome tale to me. However the reason for taking picture what the smart phone photographer often said to me was pretty simple and straight. "Excuse me. Let me take your picture for souvenir" The reason we take a people's photo is basically such simple. Because you are my type. Because this is my job. Because I want record this moment forever. So let me take your picture. If the model says No, it means you guys don't feel chemistry each other. That's it. In all over the planet, people take a picture each other in casual. That's quite tough age for professional, although it's a golden age of photo culture by ordinary people. By the way, I'll appear on your bedside at night after I'll dead. So the guys who took my picture ... "see you then"