"The Portraitist"  [Reflections on Chris Orwig's Book Visual Poetry - Chapter 5: Generally] (1 Cor. 13:8-13; Psalm 42:7)

Good relating’s basic here,
In a people-picture – dear
To those folk who come to view –
“That’s so him (or her, or you)”

Best if viewed in mirror though –
We see backwards – face we know;
Just like mirror-writing, we
Know reverse reality.

Grow up to maturity,
Then in others you will be
One who grows up with them too,
In that pictured point of view.

It’s authentic we must be
In relationships, to see
What a person is and does
When they’re real – that is because –

That’s how people do their lives,
Boy and girl friends, husbands, wives –
Smiles? On upper half of face
Can’t be faked, so focus place –

On that part of what you see –
Tack-sharp eyes that look at me;
Don’t forget it’s body art,
Not just eyes – but that’s a start.

Endless tips there are on this;
Start to shoot, don’t wait and miss
What can never come again –
Rivers flow – no more the same.

Keep it simple, light that’s there;
Move around; each shot compare;
Long-shot; medium to right;
Circle ’round and move in tight.

Dance with them; demystify
Focal tool with which you try
To make fleeting moments fixed
With your camera, lens, and disk.

Ask permission, do not skulk;
Work with them, don’t shoot in bulk;
Harvesting from grab-shot style?
Waste of time – pix take a while.

Grasp what’s underneath their skin;
Say to subject, “Here begin
To grow up; build on this piece;
In authentic, find release”.

In the seniors’ homes today
Lie some nine-year-olds, who stayed
At that level all their lives –
Sad, but that’s what now survives.

Grasp the essence of each one,
So, when shooting project’s done,
They’ve a better grasp who they
Were designed to be today.

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