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Dealing with uncooperative story subjects
Malnutrition reporting in Honduras with The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
I have hit a wall and I don’t know how to overcome it. This is the first time that I have struggled with field production, so I am hoping others have previously gone through something similar and can offer some advice.
I found a Honduran family that I am really interested in documenting. The mother is raising her five children in a one room, mud hut with two twin cots for the six of them. She sells firewood for 35 lempira, roughly $2, and only has enough money to buy rice and beans. The father abandoned them and fled to the U.S. The two-year-old girl is enrolled in a nutrition study because she is malnourished. They are the perfect family for my story … there’s only one problem:
I have spent time with them on two separate occasions, telling them that I want to learn more about their lives. Granted, there is a language barrier, but I have explained to the best of my ability that I want them to do what they would normally do if I was not there. However, no matter how long I spend with them, or if I put my equipment away and just talk with them to build rapport, every time I get my camera back out they want to pose for pictures and then review each one afterward. It is insanely frustrating for me, but I feel that I cannot be rude and deny them this small pleasure.
They stare directly into the camera, and do not understand when I tell them that I don’t want them to look at me. When I start video recording to get audio, they all stop talking and just stare at me. It’s as if I am the center of attention and they are more interested in playing with me than going on with their lives and forgetting I am there.
My question is, how do I blend into the background to document their natural lives rather than stick out like a sore thumb and document a “staged” lifestyle?
I have a feeling that there are several issues here. One, I need to spend more time with them so that they hopefully become more comfortable with my presence and get bored with me. Two, the language barrier is hurting me as I can’t accurately describe why I am doing what I am doing. Three, they have been taught to stare into the cameras of other Americans, and do not understand the difference between posed photography and documentary photography.
I have managed to get a couple of decent pictures, but nowhere near enough for an audio slide show, which was my initial goal.
So, for all of those who have documented international stories, is this a cultural barrier that I won’t be able to overcome? What have you done to mask your foreign presence in order to blend in and get the story that you know is there?
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Tags: documentary, field production, Honduras, multimedia, story subject, The Putlizer Center on Crisis Reporting, Tracy Boyer
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Hey Tracy,
Time is probably the best remedy. Eventually the novelty does wear off and you will eventually be able to more discretely get the shots you need.
One thing I do is keep my video camera on me the whole time hanging from my shoulder with the lens out.
Then shoot from the hip.
Bringing the camera to your eye is usually the cue to pose, so instead let your LCD screen work for you and shoot from your hip. The people you are around might not think you are shooting that way.
I also set my camera down on a table or the floor and record from that angle.
On blending into the background: I’ve never been able to do this. People tend not to forget the guest with the all the gadgets sitting in their home. The best I can hope for is that they become ambivalent to my gear and comfortable with me in their space. This is usually best achieved through friendly conversation instead of trying to hide in the corner.
Hope that helps. Good luck.
Tracy, I think you’ve identified the issues already and that the first two will take care of the third. I know it can be expensive to be able to spend sufficient time to blend in, but it is the only true way they will begin to accept your presence and forget about the camera.
I know from experience it can be tough as hell, but like the previous poster said, keep the camera out and visible and they will eventually get used to it.
And shooting with the LCD does help a lot. Something about the differing body positioning between looking down and looking straight toward the subject…looking down poses less of a “threat” than facing straight toward them. One reason subjects everywhere seem to be more relaxed when photographed with a medium-format still camera versus a 35mm.
During your “getting accepted” period, try working on getting details of their environment, shooting things other than the people themselves. They’ll soon begin to relax around you.
Best of luck.
Thanks so much Matt and Allen. I spent another morning with them, and I am beginning to see a slight difference in their behavior. This time I spent more time bonding with the kids instead of constantly taking photos of them, and I think that helped a lot. Glad to hear others struggle with this too, though!