testaments

i asked kris graves how he stayed true to his subjects -- how he dealt with portraying friends and family. it was a very vague question and i wasn't exactly sure what i was looking for i just knew that i wanted to know more about the way that he photographed people, and the way he told their stories/let them tell their own stories.

he said he let them choose.
he let them pick the lighting, he showed them the pictures, he let them make decisions about which pictures they wanted to be released to the world.
even if that decision was "none of them".

one woman was really self-conscious about her appearance, he said. he sent her the pictures after he was finished, and she didn't like any of them. told him she didn't want them on display, not anywhere, even though he thought they were some of his better photos.
so he didn't put them in the gallery.

and i appreciated that, and i think that's important... not just asking for permission, but allowing people to choose how their story is told. it's something that i always find myself wondering about art, about exhibition of things that have stories attached. basically, what are the ways in which we preserve the rights of the subject? what are the ways that we empower people to make their own choices?