Went to the studio today with the intention of setting up the lighting in order to take photographs of as many clients as possible. The idea was to use both the digital camera and a medium format camera in order to see which one would work best. As one tattoo can take several hours, I had the idea that I might potentially be able to photograph three or four people in the one session. I knew I would be sitting around for a long time so brought my computer with me in order to get on with work whilst waiting for subjects.
Managed to set up the lighting relatively quickly which was good. The first client of the day was called Rebecca and I chatted to her before Louis got started on her tattoo. She was really nervous as she remembered the pain from a previous tattoo and was not looking forward to it. It has been so long since my last tattoo that the pain element is not in the forefront of my memory so much. I was very sympathetic though as I do remember that it did hurt! She agreed to be a subject and after an hour or so came out of the back room, newly tattooed on her back. She was very happy with the result and posed for a number of photos for me. I wanted her to be relaxed in front of the camera and tried to talk her through it. This isn’t always so easy in a situation where you have just met someone for the first time. When working with individuals in a photographic project, I totally understand why the photographer gets to know his/her subjects first. This helped me when I did a project on Irish Identity. People are always more comfortable in from the camera when they have some connection with the photographer, unless of course they are regularly photographed and can ‘perform’ at the drop of a hat. I realised that it would be difficult to achieve the kind of photograph I wanted but decided to use the first session as a kind of test run in order to see what is achievable in a short space of time. I wanted to take perhaps half a dozen shots max as there would be no point in keeping the subject for longer than say five minutes. Having a tattoo is a long and painful process and although there is often a sense of euphoria once the tattoo is complete, there is an element of discomfort in the process and I realised that I had to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. I also interviewed her to find out why she came to this particular parlour and why she chose the design she did.
The next of Louis’ clients was due for a four-hour session so I prepared for a long haul. Half an hour in however, Louis suggested that I talk to a woman called Nina in one of the other studios who had been tattooed the week before. Coincidentally, she was the girlfriend of the subject being tattooed and they had travelled down from Peterborough in order for him to get a tattoo. This seemed to work more in my favour as she had plenty of time to kill and I felt that she was more relaxed.
Next I met some other clients, Sue and … who were waiting for another person to be tattooed and they too had time to spare and were willing to participate in my project. I decided to photograph them together as well as separately as they were sister-in-laws. They were quite amiable and good fun so easy to work with.
The last subject that I photographed was the second client of that day, Michael. After four hours, he was ready to be photographed and interviewed but was sporting a large bandage on his new tattoo. I decided to photograph a tattoo that he had received some months before and used both the digital and medium format camera as he was a very willing participant.
There were another couple of subjects that I encountered later in the day who seemed willing to participate but when it came to the actuality of taking the photographs, they were not suitable as seemed in a rush and not at ease with being photographed. I had expected that some individuals might not be suitable which was why I wanted to try to use as many participants as possible.
I managed to get five good candidates in the one session, which I was pleased about. I do feel however that I was unable to photograph them in the manner that I intended. Though the photographs serve their purpose, I had hoped that some of the subjects might be budding actors or I could somehow manage to coax them into becoming Britain's next top model :-).
I think it is a case of working with the clients and coming up with a way of getting the most out of them. It is very hard when you don’t have time to get to know the client at all but due to the time factor of the project, there is really no way round that. I have asked Gary, the general assistant at the parlour if he could get in touch with any of Louis’ more regular clients for the next session on the 7th March. He has agreed and if there are a few people who are able to visit the parlour in order to participate on the project, it might work better as there wouldn’t be a problem with the time factor and also they wouldn’t be in any discomfort from being recently tattooed. Once I have confirmed the date with Louis then I will see if I can arrange for some other potential subjects at the same time.
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