Lucas Hutmacher - Reach: Taking Pictures of People

Photo/Essay

Photos and essay by Lucas Hutmacher.

Published: Monday, March 30, 2009

voices tag

Right now, I’m picturing all of you in your underwear. They say that it helps if you’re nervous about public speaking and I’m assuming the same goes for writing. On second thought, since you’re reading this on a computer, you are very likely already in your underwear, I know I am.

Now that we’re all nice and uncomfortable, you’re starting to understand how it feels for me to take pictures of people. I’ve really only been actively taking pictures for about three years now and photographing people has always been difficult. Really, I’ve noticed two main situations of taking pictures of people.

First, there are the situations where people expect to get their pictures taken – bars, parades, parties, concerts, fairs etc. That’s really where I had to start. When you’re 6’5” holding a four-pound camera, it’s really difficult to be discrete. By taking advantage of these ‘camera friendly’ situations, I was able to break through my nervousness of getting busted taking pictures of complete. In these situations, when people bust you taking their picture there is a fairly high likelihood that you’ll get a smile and, oftentimes, people posing for the camera (these are the pictures that I email to the subject and typically forget forever).

The second area is where my struggle begins, but the payback is great––taking pictures of people on the street and in their natural environments. In these situations, there is often a sense of invasion of a person’s privacy, which I totally understand. Technically, as long as you’re standing on public piece of ground, you have the legal right to take pictures of anything you want, but that doesn’t mean much when you’re being chased down by an angry pack of hobos.

When I was about six years old, I couldn’t make a layup to save my life. My coach (god curse his soul) made me stay behind after practice and go until I made like three in a row. There were some nights I was there for like two hours extra. Eventually, it sunk in and I can make layups now (and consequently HATE sports), but the whole idea of working on what you suck at until you’re better (or at least suck less) holds true for many things in life. The difficulty is being able to recognize what you’re no good at.

When I look at my pictures, I try and look at them like someone else took them and ask myself if they’re any good. I did the high school yearbook thing, way back in the day of film, and the amount of film I ruined was probably responsible for the loss of several cooks jobs due to underfunding. Now that we’re firmly in the age of digital, I’m able to just blast away. Not that the pictures are any better, but I’m at least able to shoot without thinking about the quarter I just wasted.

Over the past year or so, I’ve made the conscious effort to take more and better pictures of people in their natural environment, which is really about 80% personal confidence (that’s why a lot of them are basically pictures of people’s back… I’m probably sittin’ firmly at about 55%, which isn’t even a D).

I find it difficult to explain what I’m looking for when taking pictures; I usually just try to keep the camera ready all the time. The best pictures are the ones that present themselves when the camera is at home, which I’ve learned the hard way many times. I also can’t say that I often grab my camera and say “I’m just going to go take pictures for a while.” Though I’ve done it a few times, and everything just seems forced and it is immediately reflected in the pictures.

I really count myself lucky in two ways. First, I’ve got a day job. Now, as much as I complain about how much easier life would be if I was a full-time photographer, that’s probably not true. By using my camera as an entertainment and relaxation device, I’m able to do whatever the hell I want. If I was working for someone, I’d really be taking pictures of stuff that other people want (that’s not to say I won’t sell my stuff though, I mean, I may be in my underwear and all, but that doesn’t make me stupid).

Second, I’m lucky enough to have a father who’s a professional photojournalist who, as long as I’m not asking him for money, is nearly required by law to field my question as to ‘what the hell does this word mean?’ or ‘how do you do this in Photoshop?’ He is probably the one full-time photographer that I know who takes his camera with him when he’s not working (and actually uses it for more than good parking spaces with a Media Pass). He also always impresses me by pushing himself into new territories in his art. After doing it for over 30 years, he’s managed to stay excited about it and that’s really to be commended.

I’ve been taking pictures for about three years now, at least in a more serious way. In the last year, I launched my website, a daily photoblog of Kansas City photography. The images in this set are all pictures that I’ve taken of people around Kansas City in the last year. Hopefully, next year there’ll be less concert and party stuff and more pictures of hobos and people running from the police, that’ll put me upwards of 70% confidence, and that’s tall cotton when you’re a computer nerd.