When I first met Avner, he was returning from his Aikido dojo in Portland. We chatted about our upcoming photoshoot and his career and travel. Here is a person who has performed so many times, before so many audiences, that therein lies a challenge for me as a photographer. As with any subject, it’s necessary to break through the wall of formality between photographer and subject. Every person presents a certain kind of mask to the world, and it’s when this masks drops—even slightly, sometimes for just an instant—that there’s an opportunity for an authentic, real and interesting photograph.
Our location was the Maine State Ballet Company—I could say it’s because of Avner’s deep connection to performance in all its forms, but really, it’s because it’s the only place I could find near Portland with a red velvet curtain that I knew would look great in the final image. Once Avner was on location and in character, with trademark bowler hat, my job was just to make him feel comfortable and let him do his thing.
The only issue is, Avner is a professional and experienced performer. Slipping into character is second nature. The trick wouldn’t be getting interesting shots of him emoting and in character. Instead, it would be to get him in an unguarded, real moment. Although I got a great number of quality, fun images of Avner, most look like typical promotional images used to promote an upcoming show rather than an editorial image conveying a feeling about Avner as a person. In the end I came down to a couple of images, including one of Avner leaning down on his traveling trunks, his face serious and lined. I went with the image we used for Inspire Portland because it captured a light and somewhat enigmatic expression, conveyed a strong theatrical sense, and was totally unscripted. In fact, it was during a moment when I was adjusting the lights and Avner was just talking and interacting with me and my assistant, Charlie. To me, Avner looks comfortable and in his element, an accomplished pro who has spent a lifetime in the theater but who still has the capacity to have fun.
Check out some of the outtakes in the show below (it’s a Flash gallery, so iProduct users will need a a computer to view the outtakes). I love the one of him with his hat perfectly perched in the air above his head. Only took Avner a handful of tries to nail that one.
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