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By Joel Greenberg
Owner REAL FACES (TM)
It took a conscious effort of will to suppress my initial impressions. Not easy to keep an open mind, as looming over me in REAL FACES, my studio, was a rather beefy, six-foot plus lady. With a massive paw of a hand that could easily engulf my own, she offered a feminine handshake, and with a rather deep voice introduced herself as Kathy.
The soft-spoken and gentle manner of this lady, combined with the assurance of one used to leadership, compelled me to listen respectfully, as I was told of a national organization of heterosexual cross-dressers. Kathy was acting as an official icebreaker for the members of her organization as she explained the appeal our services (glamour-fantasy portraiture) would have for her fellow members. Would we be accepting?
I expressed the commitment of myself, and my staff, to welcome TRI-ESS members with enthusiasm, hospitality, and discretion. As I shook goodbye of Kathy's beefy, graceful paw, I had no idea of the full scope of the fascinating challenge, the professional satisfaction, the appreciativeness these most unique clients would bring to my studio.
In the months that followed, as more TRI-ESS members came through our studio, I found that these fellows/ladies, while interestingly varied in their personalities, shared a common trait: They all were the most openly enthusiastic and warmly appreciative clients any photographer could hope for.
As my make-up artists, and myself found our professional skills challenged, we found TRI-ESSers to be openly grateful for our efforts. Few customers could be as professionally satisfying.
After several TRI-ESS sittings had gone through the studio, a clear sense was developing with me that we participating in something much more profound than merely playful dress-up. I was being allowed to intimately participate in something more akin to metamorphosis.
I saw a somewhat shy and insecure, rural small-town fellow become a garish streetwalker. A soft-spoken, conservatively dressed businessman became an elegant aristocrat. Another unpretentious business type transformed into an extroverted coquette. I was being allowed a special insight as we helped these fellows get in touch with elements of their personalities that were hidden or suppressed while they were dressed as men.
Capturing this female persona on film was no trivial pursuit.
Having been a professional portrait photographer for over twenty years has taught me that artistic vision and technical skill are not nearly as important, nor as difficult to master, as the skill required of me to successfully relate to my subjects. A portrait sitting is an artificial confrontation of the subject with a photographer and his equipment that by nature has an inhibiting effect on the behavior and body language of even the most self assured of subjects. In order to capture a visual image that expresses the subject's individuality, eloquently and positively, the photographer must establish a rapport with the subject that dispells this inhibition.
Some highly successful portrait photographers devote their careers to developing a distinct and personal artistic style, skillfully manipulating each subject to fill the mold of the photographer's vision. Their best work is highly valued for having the clearly recognizable style unique to this master photographer.
My work is based on a different set of values. I believe the subject is the most important element of a portrait, not the photographer. I believe that it is my professional responsibility to find an artistic style that best suits the uniquely individual nature of the subject.
Unanimously, so far, each TRI-ESS sitting has been a uniquely satisfying opportunity for the full expression of my professional vision. I look forward to more.