Gregory Heisler - Gregory Heisler: 50 Portraits: Stories and Techniques from a Photographers Photographer

To Lucy and Sadie,
the lights of my life.

BY MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG

L ighting, framing, backdrop, props I dont know the first thing about portrait photography. I couldnt tell an f-stop from a bus stop. And I certainly could not explain how the elements work together to make a good portrait. But from my experience, there is one element that precedes them all: trust.

Does the person sitting for the portrait trust the photographer enough not to get in the way of his or her visionnot to seek to be both the subject and the artist? For me, that trust comes easily, because I know what I dont know. But many people who are used to being photographed constantlyeven hounded by the paparazzithink they know best. They dont. Thats not to say the subject cant have ideas. But ultimately, it is a portraitnot a self-portrait. And you have to trust the artist.

I think a big part of Gregory Heislers success is that he is so easy to trustand not just because he has a long history of doing incredible work, as is so clearly seen in this book.

Ive known Greg for nearly two decades. Hes smart and creative, with an easy way about hima down-to-earth conversationalist with a disarming sense of humor. He puts on no airs, puts you at ease, and treats you like a friend. He photographed me for the cover of my 1997 autobiography. I was a first-time author, but I knew enough not to try to be a first-time artist, too. The words were mine; the photo was Gregs. And when I needed my portrait taken at two sites that mean a great deal to methe 9/11 Memorial and my alma mater, Johns Hopkins UniversityI called Greg.

Greg is also easy to trust because he respects your time. He works quickly, perhaps knowing that someone who is frustrated with the time it takes to get the right shot risks ruining the picture. For me, getting a portrait taken can be a distraction from whatever real work is going on that day. It feels like a self-indulgent experience without the satisfaction of, say, putting chunky peanut butter on a piece of matzoh. But Greg makes it feel quick and easyeven when its not so quick and easy.

A few years ago, Greg came to New Yorks City Hall to take a portrait of me that would run in the Time 100 issue about our administrations environmental agenda. The plan was to take the photograph in City Hall Park. Id walk out the door and be back at my desk in five minutes. No problem. But when he arrived, he had another idea: to put me up in a tree. You can imagine what I said when I arrived at the shootand if you cant, well, it cant be printed here. But I knew Greg, and I trusted him. So up in the tree I went. And he was absolutely right: it was a much more interesting and memorable photograph than me standing next to the tree or just sitting on a park bench.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg photographed at the 9/11 Memorial site the week before it opened to the public.

Greg has always had a pitch-perfect sense for matching subject and setting, which gives his portraits a feeling and mood that ring true for the audience. His picture of former New York City mayor Ed Koch, which hangs in City Hall, is one of the greatest political portraits ever created. Nearly every visitor who sees it in City Hall stops to take it inand those who lived here in the 1980s understand it in personal ways that are both poignant and profound.

The portraits in this book include some of Gregs best work, and as different as the photographs are, I think you can see a common trait in all of them: trust.

Edward I. Koch, former mayor of New York City

Premier coup painting: The term refers to making paintings at the first go, or in one session. It requires a careful selection of materials and tools and a working procedure that will allow improvisation and spontaneity.

Jeffrey Carr, from the foreword to Alla Prima: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Direct Painting

P hotography isnt just the premier coup, its the only coup. Thats the very essence of photographic portraiture. Whatever happens in front of the lens stays. Whats captured during the encounter is all that exists. A photographer has to bring all of his or her resources to bear on the moment of exposure. All the planning, intuition, technical prowess, and knowledge, as well as the trust and rapport you have (or havent) established, will show up in the picture, frozen forever. Its like an interview, except theres no opportunity for a follow-up question. It triggers a classic left brain/right brain struggle: spontaneous yet calculated, emotional and rational. Its exciting but terrifying, thrilling when it works and heartbreaking when it doesnt.