The Photographic Act - The Energy Perspective

I saw this statement, “The photographic act is often viewed as an assertion of masculine dominance; a predatory point-and-shoot action...” and was immediately back in time, back in the studio with my male models for the "Real Men" series, and thought, oh my ...

Photographing people, anytime, anywhere, naturally puts the photographer in charge.

It is the photographer who chooses which pictures to take; when to click the shutter button.

This is on that level just as much power as it would be to point a gun at the crowd and choose that moment when they pull the trigger.

Most people who take their holiday snaps or happy pics of the family occasion are unaware of the sheer power of that.

It is also interesting to contemplate who, in the family, is "the photographer," the one who is never IN the picture, but who takes the pictures.

The one who tells the story of that family, with their finger on the shutter button that will create history in that moment and tells the story ...

All of that is usually entirely unconscious; it becomes at least semi-conscious when we arrive at really photographing people, portraits or studio shoots for a project, where the photographer really sets the scene and then moves the model around in this space to achieve something THE PHOTOGRAPHER tries to achieve.

Now this could be that "the person being photographed likes the photograph at the end" but that is somewhat rare.

The photographer is doing something with the model for their own purposes, whatever they may be.

The photographer is "in charge."

Now, is this the same as "dominance"?

When we hear that term, we think of wolves snarling over the carcass of a freshly killed moose, probably in the snow.

Some might think of some big brutal guy "dominating" a whimpering small woman - boo!

Some might think of a Ms Whiplash type lady in leather boots and a very tight corset.

Either which way, that term "dominance" is one of those things that is quite different from the energy perspective.

Here, we have a higher energy individual which naturally - NATURALLY! - gets to be "the leader" in any given situation, and a lower energy individual who will follow the higher energy individual, NATURALLY.

When this situation arises with two people involved, we have a dominance hierarchy.

Now these two people "couple bubble" as their energy system aligns; now something interesting happens where both become more than the sum of their parts. They become a single entity.

This entity now has its own energy level.

At negative energy levels, this entity will be chaotic, stressed, incongruent and whatever this entity produces, will likewise carry that exact same energy/information/outcome.

At higher energy levels, this entity becomes more stable, more inspired, more magical.

At the highest energy levels, this entity will become absolutely amazing, and whatever his entity produces, will be pure magic, even HOLY.

This is the polar opposite of the "predatory point-and-shoot action" mentioned in the triggering quote.

Now, let's be reasonable here.

Certainly in the past, the vast majority of photographers were male. This being so, and sexual attraction being THE absolutely most motivating factor in choosing who or what to shoot, it stands to reason that these male photographer would want to photograph people they find sexually attractive, and to pose them in such a way that this sexually attractiveness is as powerful an experience as possible for that one photographer.

To put it simply, if a photographer loves feet, feet will be highlighted because they are the "point of view" through the camera that gets the photographer the most excited.

It is as simple as that.

The same goes for environments, props, colour choices, posing the model - the photographer is looking for the highest taste, their highest possible "tingling in the body" that is not just sexual but energetic in nature. They're looking to get energy high.

Each photographer has their own way of achieving this; and many may seem to be "objectifying" the model as a part of that set up, the model being a prop just like the other props to stage the scene.

There are undoubtedly many photographers who do that "predatory point-and-shoot" and thoroughly enjoying being able to control the model in this environment completely, telling them what to do with their bodies, what attitude they're supposed to be having, to achieve as much pleasure/energy from this as possible.

Indeed, photography may be the only place in their lives where they can experience this level of control, in the widest metaphorical sense - not only over the model, but also over themselves.

It's fascinating, really ....

I'll be going to my thoughts on Modern Energy Art, photography department now.

First of all, what we don't do in Modern Energy Art, MEA from now on, is we do NOT document the status quo, we do not report on how things are right now. We always seek the all important ART SOLUTION - an evolution, a Star Experience that will make us better, stronger, wiser, richer.

Instead of the usual "self gratification," we are seeking "self evolution," or just evolution, because it feels sooo good. It feels better than repeating the old. It's the highest taste experience, and that's important. It moves the goal posts from repeating the old, to creating the new.

Every photographer who actually exhibits their work in some way does not only want to have the experience/s at the time, they also want people to see their photos and go WOW.

Photos taken in really high energy states do that. They absolutely have that energy, that effect.

Which is a further encouragement to think ENERGY and EVOLUTION in the process, and keep the process focused on that, every step of the way.

Here comes the important part of the energy photography story.

In the context of taking pictures of another human being, and wanting people to go WOW when you're done, the model needs to be energy high also.

The magic happens when the entiry that consists of the photographer and the model arises.

This entity is NEW. It has never been before. It has exponentially more power than the photographer or the model by their lonesome selves.

Being in that couple bubble is a transcendental experience.

It's transformational for both photographer and model, and both walk away with a whole new found appreciation of each other, and themselves.

In other words, the relationship between the photographer and the model is an opportunity for personal evolution.

There is no hierarchy then; the very concept of dominance has become irrelevant.

I believe, and I really do believe this, that even the most predatory point-and-shoot types (and these could be any gender, please note!) are seeking THE MAGIC. Perhaps they seek it more profoundly than everyone else; perhaps they are more desperately hungry for it than the rest.

They're looking for the magic in the wrong places.

You can see this over time when there is an escalation of whatever - obscenity, brutality, craziness or "controversy." They're ramping up as the acts are failing to please as once they did, and that which they seek becomes more and more elusive.

It's an energy thing ...

When we go at the "photographic act" from the energy perspective, it's just a different universe.

The MEA photographer starts out very energy high; and they have a set up in mind for the session. "Show me the beauty!" or simply, "Blow my socks off with what will happen here today!" can get us started.

The model will happily follow along with the instructions from a very energy high person. The photographer understands that the energy level of the model are CRUCIAL to the success fo the project and will do their best to raise the model's energy.

As this happens, the couple bubble comes into being and the entity that is more than the sum of their parts comes into existence.

This entity creates the shoot. Magic will, nay MUST, happen.

Both walk away amazed and delighted.

The photographer has further evolutions in post processing; the model will have their own experiences as they "see themselves as they've never ever seen themselves before" afterwards.

And the audience goes ... WOW.

 

Sounds like a good deal to me.

 

Silvia Hartmann

August 2020