Colberg on Hido

Untitled (2431) by Todd Hido, shown at the jb in our 2004 exhibition, Home for the Holidays

Considering that A New American Portrait is opening in a few short days, it’s very timely that Jörg just published a conversation with Todd Hido on his blog. I wish, wish, wish that Todd could make it to the opening, but he’s West Coast and busy, and alas. (Everyone else is coming though, which is v. cool.)

Todd and Jörg chat about everything from digital vs. film, Lauryn Hill, editing (Todd LOVES editing! unusual since most photographers I know dread it), BMX, untouched and unstaged work and of course, portraiture.

Untitled (2737) by Todd Hido, which is one of the pieces in the upcoming A New American Portrait. (Opening Friday June 22, 2007)

Here’s an excerpt from their conversation about portraits:

JC: The $1,000,000 question about portraiture appears to be who holds the key to how the portrait turns out—the photographer or the model. What is your take on this? How much can you, as the photographer, influence how the photo turns out?

TH: That is a great question and an easy one to answer—I feel it is really always a collaboration.
This is how the process works for me—very often the first time I meet someone I photograph is when they come to the shoot. For the most part I have only seen images of them online and usually have not ever talked to them on the phone. It is all set up via internet and email. So I know nothing of who they actually are—only what they choose to let me see.
There is some discomfort in that for both of us and that is useful I think in capturing a good image.
I have shot many, many, more people {and places} than have ended up being represented in my work. That is the nature of photography I think—you shoot a lot more than you show. You shoot lots and narrow it down to the best ones.
A writer once figured out that I end up showing about .5% of the film I shoot. I am a ruthless editor of my own work.
Also I know that the great, great collaborator in much of this medium of freezing moments, expressions and gestures is chance—and the other great force is luck!
But of course, you choose what to put in front of or point your camera at.
With these portraits several of the models are wearing wigs and don’t even resemble themselves. So there is some “styling” done by me and certainly acting happening on their part.
As I mentioned before the portraits are the only thing that is “staged” in my body of work as I can’t get an image like this totally candidly. I usually find a location that works and ask the model to “please stand over here”, or “let’s try sitting over there” and I just see what happens.
In posing—I don’t have the sitters push anything—the smallest actions are so expressive and complete. The best, most sincere poses almost always come in between rolls—when I am busy changing the film and the model is unaware of herself—when she is not projecting an imaginary image of who she wants to be—or thinks we want her to be.

For more on Todd’s portraits, check out Photo-Eye Booklist editior Darius Himes’ interview with Todd from American Photo.