The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 80 Capturing vitality
Every photographer has their own style and characteristics, and what Bruce is best at is capturing emotions/moods.

He strives to capture the emotions within his photographic subjects and honestly express the elements of his personality. Through the lens, he is always able to capture those fleeting subtle and delicate emotional fluctuations. This is the most precious trait in a character, which he believes is the most valuable trait that photography imparts. Time has a different meaning.

This is why "GQ" asked Bruce to help fill the vacancy, even though they knew that Bruce had already completed two suit themes in a row.

If anyone could capture the different qualities and colors within the same suit theme, Bruce would be the best choice.

Bruce caught Anson's nervousness immediately.

But Anson gave an unexpected answer.

"No, I'm not nervous. I'm just...stiff."

If you think about it seriously, this sentence is correct.

Bruce twitched the corner of his mouth slightly, but could not show a smile. He shook his head to express his denial, "You care too much about the camera."

Anson didn’t understand, “I thought you should look at the camera when taking pictures.”

Here, a psychological concept is involved, the fourth wall.

When watching a stage play, the left and right directions of the stage and the rear canopy constitute the three walls of the entire space, and the remaining one direction is the audience seat.

Therefore, the fourth wall is an assumed invisible wall between the stage and the auditorium. This transparent wall separates the audience from the actors.

If an actor is aware of the fourth wall, he or she can concentrate on the performance and ignore the audience.

If the audience ignores the existence of the fourth wall, they can immerse themselves in the performance and ignore other influencing factors.

It is precisely because of this that in the filming of TV and movies, the actors' eyes need to avoid the camera as much as possible to avoid breaking the fourth wall and destroying the immersion, unless it is carefully designed by the director to use the fourth wall to make a fuss and create a different form of immersive experience.

But flat shooting is different.

The model needs to look directly at the camera, break the fourth wall with her eyes, communicate with the audience, and complete the emotional transmission. This is a very important action.

Although it was the first time for Anson to be both an actor and a model, he still understood the basic theory and did not make simple basic mistakes.

So, what's the problem?

Opening method, what went wrong?
Bruce didn't respond.

He knew that Anson was right. Flat shooting did require communication with the camera. Although body language also plays an important role, the power of eyes cannot be ignored. Just like the finishing touch, eyes are always needed in the end.

However, paying too much attention to the camera will lead to stiffness of the body and expression, which not only destroys the overall balance, but also completely fails to capture Anson's charm and temperament, and even the smile at the corner of the mouth cannot reach the depth of the eyes.

The works shot in this way have no vitality.

So, how should we measure it?

This is a subject for models, and it also requires guidance from the photographer. The words were already on his lips, but Bruce noticed a detail——

now.

This is the moment.

When the shooting stopped, there was no flash or shutter, and the moment Anson opened his mouth to respond, his energy came back. Just like black and white turning into color, the vivid and bright Anson broke free from the constraints of the paper and came to life.

so amazing.

Bruce swallowed the words abruptly, without responding or paying attention. He pressed the shutter again with his right index finger to capture the moment in front of him.

Click!

The air was quiet.

Anson:? ? ?
The shutter and flash interrupted Anson's inquiry, and he was completely caught off guard. He looked at Bruce with a look of astonishment on his face, "What are you doing?"

Bruce has an idea.

"Don't pay attention to me, don't care about the camera, treat the space in front of you as a playground, move around, don't fixate or pose, move according to your own ideas, release to your heart's content, leave the rest to me."

Anson realized at this time that he still lacked experience. Was Bruce letting him go crazy and have fun in the studio? Bruce didn't give Anson time to think, and waved his hands to signal, "Move, don't be restrained, do you need music? You can dance by yourself."

Anson lowered his head and looked at his appearance——

Suit.

This is a suit, not a tracksuit, how is he supposed to move?
Moreover, unlike the usual casual suits, this suit is very slim-fitting, and you can feel the restraint everywhere from the shoulders to the elbows to the waist.

If he exerts a little force, it feels like his clothes are about to tear. How should he move?
All the questions I have since time travel add up to less than half of what I have at this moment.

Subconsciously, Anson looked towards Gretel, gestured his appearance up and down, and asked with his eyes, "Are you sure?"

Bruce noticed it immediately and didn't give Gretel a chance to respond. "Move, don't worry about other things, just move as much as you want."

It feels a little strange.

Anson had the illusion that he accidentally broke into a fitness class. Before he had time to figure out whether it was a spinning bike or aerobics, the instructor started driving him like a chicken.

Involuntarily, Anson began to move——

But how should we move?

Street dance?
He will not.

The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous and funny he became. The whole situation was full of joy, but Anson finally moved, let go of his arms and legs and started to sway.

Yes, swinging.

Just like a six-year-old child wearing his father's suit and pretending to be meeting in a conference room to make important decisions, wandering without purpose or direction.

In his previous life, Ansen was frail and sick as a child. He would get a fever if he was exposed to a little rain, catch a cold if he was exposed to a little wind, and would suffer from vomiting and diarrhea if he ate the wrong things. His parents were worried about his health and once sent him to learn martial arts to keep fit. This was not a Shaolin Temple. Kung Fu, that is, martial arts, boxing, fighting, etc.

Anson has not tested whether it is kung fu or not, but his body has indeed become stronger bit by bit; moreover, he has truly learned how to use his body.

Anson didn't expect that those things could be used now. Although the close-fitting suit was still awkward, the movements were really lively.

So, does this fall into the category of “getting things done while having fun and making money along the way”?
Click. Click. Click.

Bruce is recording.

The camera in hand is, of course, a film camera, and professional photographers now do not and cannot work with digital cameras where the technology is not fully developed.

Therefore, Bruce has no way to view his photos on the computer in real time, but he has eyes——

Observe with your eyes and feel with your intuition.

After working as a professional photographer for these years, five or six years ago, Bruce is best at capturing that vitality.

In Bruce's own words, life force.

So he likes to photograph life.

Such as animals. Such as humans.

Use film to record the moment when life blooms, whether it is sadness, happiness, loss or joy, even if it is nothingness, it can be frozen.

At this time, Bruce was observing.

The situation has indeed improved, much better than the fixed-point modeling just now.

Anson should be moving instead of being imprisoned in place like a statue.

But not enough.

Far from enough.

　First update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)