Misawa-shi, Japan - Where Another Chapter in my Life Begins

I'm sat in front of my barracks desk at nearly 0300 staring at the lip of my large coffee mug. I have a shoot at 0430 with no chance of sleeping, but I'm hopeful. The past 10 months have been a blur of activity and a revolving door of people. Training was long and brought me to Northern Japan exhausted and watching heavy snowfall late March from a small commercial plane. My entire shop greeted me at the terminal, a crowd of faces I now know as my friends and colleagues.

This past month in Japan has given me a sense of possibility I haven't experienced since my early twenties as a university student. There is still much for me to figure out, but time is on my side for once.

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Things to Anticipate:

-Short fiction, essays and the occasional conversational entry
-Photo essays of sorts

Preparing to leave...

I don't know what to say.  I've waited so long for June 22, 2011 to roll around that I'm dumbfounded it's almost here.  I was initially sworn into the DEP pool (Delayed Entry Program) on October 5, 2010.  I remember thinking to myself it was an excruciatingly long wait, but I was also happy to have the rating I wanted -- Mass Communications Specialist.  It's going to be a challenging 2 months, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless.

I will post something late August, early September the latest, on my overall experience at RTC (Recruit Training Center).  A silly parting video that expresses my sentiments about leaving my small town of Lacey, WA and my general lifestyle so far*.

*-Thanks, Matt!  Can't get enough of this silly song :P

American Short Fiction Short Story Contest Entry | The Fall

Audrey twisted her pint glass against the grain of the table and sighed. The story outline in her moleskin had become a blur of red and blue lines of her careful writing; she stared at it half expecting something to materialize. Some stories just don’t have legs, she muttered to herself.

Click to read more ...

Cometh The Hour Cometh The Man *

Wodehouse overly pleased with "Cometh the hour; cometh the man" in one of his books (Wodehouse: My own brilliance astounds me!).

The New Years is an extension of the general unease I feel around this time of year.  Perhaps this makes me out as a curmudgeon, but I’m lukewarm around the holidays.  At best, I’m somewhat festive as the New Year is rung in; allowing myself to be swept up in the energy around me.  Each end of the year is the same:  a quiet expectation for something more to happen.

Highlights of 2010

-Graduated from Saint Edward’s University last May with a Bachelors of Arts.  A part of me wants to go back and do a Masters in Creative Writing sometime in the future, but I can’t help feeling I could accomplish more by merely doing workshops.  I feel this need is a residual yearning to distance myself from my family’s working class background.  The temptation of possessing an MA certificate is strong.  Only time will tell with this one.

-Developing a workout plan that’s placed me physically back to when I was 16 years old (and better) within 3 months of focused effort.  I’m grateful for the time and care my friends, Amy and Willis, have given me.  When I first walked into the gym I was lost, but they took me in and showed me how things worked.  They’re the cornerstone of my preparation for RTC (Navy boot camp).

-I enlisted in the Navy October 10^th, something that was entirely uncharacteristic of me in the extreme.  Over a year ago I had a huge blow out with a man I was seeing at the time over whether or not I should join the Navy.  He was certain I wouldn’t be able to handle the physical and mental demands of boot camp...proving him and several other naysayers wrong is going to feel great!

-Bohemian Studios Photography is gearing up to actually being bohemian in the next year.  The website has gone from cluttered to clean and this blog has improved in overall quality and content.

-I’ve finished my first piece of short fiction, but it has gone the way of the first pancake:  a wrinkled mess that possesses potential, but doesn’t quite get there.  I’ve sent off the stinker to several good friends whose opinions and insights I value.  I still have hope for it, misplaced as it feels at the moment.  Perhaps with a bit more love it will become something tolerable to read.  At the very least, I learned a great deal while struggling over it.

Things to come in 2011

-I’m planning a trip to visit my best friend who is in the Air Force for two weeks.  While there I’ll finally have another 120 Film Series portrait and do a quick series called Men In Uniform.  I haven’t decided whether or not I want go digital or indulge in my medium format vice.  It will most likely be shot using 120 film.

-When I’m back from my mini vacation with my best friend and playing with cameras I’m going to shoot several quick photo essays of local places in Lacey and Olympia.  I might even attend another Native American pow wow if I play my cards right.  I didn’t take into account travel costs when I leapt into that shooting idea.

-A good friend will be visiting me in February for a handful of days.  He’s going to be the first subject of my portrait section of my galleries.  I’m looking forward to his visit.  Now all I have to do is convince my friend, Amy, that she’s a lovely woman and should sit for me...I have a feeling this is going to be a bring-the-mountain-to-Muhammad situation.

-I’m going to disappear for 2 months beginning in June 22^nd for RTC, but no worries!  I’ll be back before you realize I’m gone.  I don’t know the address of the place yet, but will have it up a few days before I’m gone.  If you feel so inclined to write to me I’ll do my best to reply.  I love handwritten letters to pieces.  It will definitely brighten my day to receive them.

To wrap things up, I want to thank all of you for keeping up with me and Bohemian Studios Photography throughout 2010.  Now that I’m squared away with school and career, things will be picking up in 2011.  I’m looking forward to A school and what it will mean for me after it’s taken care of.  Everything is looking up and I’m excited.  I hope 2011 for you means entering into new and exciting territory as it does for me.

Flippant New Year’s Resolution | I’m going to stop writing my Facebook status updates in 3^rd person.  Since the recent layout change it no longer makes sense (ie—Lisa Maria Reese enjoys 3^rd person banter far too much).  Touche, Facebook, touche...

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*This is something I occasionally use when I’m feeling a touch maudlin and in an especially sarcastic mood.  It’s fitting since people make such a big deal about New Years.  I couldn’t resist the temptation.  Until this moment I never realized there was a wealth of history behind this quip.  From what I’ve quickly gathered modern use is unknown, but has quite a track record.  It’s a favorite of British sports critics as a jibe for opposing teams.  Wodehouse and Sir Walter Scott have used this phrase as well.  Even the Bible has it (John 4:23).

The Rumpus Submission | Bah, Humbug!

The Rumpus, one of my favorite sites, is experimenting with a reader based submission that is similar to The Sun Magazine (another favorite of mine).  I've written a short piece for it.

Enjoy and wish me luck!

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It’s a strange moment of the year if I stop to think about it.  My TV flickers with Charlie Brown Christmas reruns and spontaneously revealed diamond earrings from men I have no chance of meeting because they don’t really exist.  After Black Friday, I watch the forty percent sale signs drop to twenty in department stores and the people around me decorating their homes in bright lights and faded plastic reindeer.  The children in my neighborhood have left years ago leaving behind aged grandparents and a vague sense that the 90’s was once a time when things were cleaner, better and less expensive.

The kitsch of the holiday season is overwhelming.  I can’t walk past my mailbox without seeing lights, novelty flags and snowflakes pasted on the sides of homes.  Something about this time of year has lost it’s appeal to me and I can’t explain why.  I remember anxiously shaking a small box, hoping for a color Gameboy to find yet another cheap felt pony and no barn.  Something for my naked crew-cut Barbies to ride and nephews to load with black cats later in the week.  It was a moment to dream for the perfect toy and bravely settle for second best.

My lopsided gingerbread house was replaced for a modest apartment in a questionable neighborhood and the second rate presents exchanged for a false sense of freedom.  Each year is a thinner, shakier version of the last.  Family has become a quiet meeting of four weary adults and polite conversation.  Rudolph’s Shiny New Year is no longer the high point of the evening, but a soft reminder in the background of something that once was.

Despite it all, I return to my childhood home each year to write, read and make the best of it.  The lake by my parents’ house freezes over and I stand on it holding onto the ladder bolted to the dock.  The ice beneath my feet groans under my weight.  It’s like this almost every year.  I hold my breath and slowly shift my feet for better footing.  On New Years Eve my mother and I watch the news to wait for the ball in New York to drop.  We tell each other the new year will be different, but privately know the silence will extend into it.

Catholic Roots

I recently reconnected with a high school friend.  She has been keeping tabs on my blog for the past several months while in the middle of her Masters thesis.  Through several e-mails she has given me the idea of keeping track of my time in the DEP pool (Delayed Entry Program) within my blog posts.  As we were talking about a piece of short fiction I am currently in the middle of she suggested writing stories based on my future experience of living in the dorms on base later.  It made me smile.  I am given these kinds of suggestions all the time when I tell people I write.  It is a common practice to take personal experiences and build upon them to create a work fiction.  Everyone knows the tired expression write what you know, but I believe people outside of the writing mindset do not understand this is supposed to remind you of your starting point.  The rest is logical conjecture and a flare for the romantic.

She reminded me of my starting point.  At the moment, my starting point is spending 2-3 hours (starting around 0730) at a local gym on the weekdays with two new friends.  As a university student my social circle was, for the most part, static.  After I established myself in the arts crowd, I ran with the same small group of people throughout my time as a student.  I will never understand how people in their early twenties fear change when I have always thrived on it.  My time is spent memorizing mySailor’s Creed, Eleven General Orders, Naval Ranking and general nautical terms.  I have a lot to internalize before I head off to BMT (boot camp).

How all of this brings me to my Catholic roots?  Allow me to explain:  I used to go to mass with a much beloved childhood friend and her family every weekend I stayed with her family.  Her and her family are my best childhood memories.  Her mother would stomp up the stairs at 0500, first her brothers’ room and then hers, yelling for us to get ready for mass.  Her youngest brother crying as the other two helped him dress.  My friend and I would hand out yogurt cups with plastic spoons in her mother’s van and all of us would sing along to an oldies station.  Above all else, we had to reach the much coveted first pew before the other families did.

There was a time when my friend took it upon herself to teach me how to say the rosary in our early teens.  Her father allowed us to sleep in their family camper instead of her room when we were older because he believed we needed privacy away from her little brothers.  For those unfamiliar with it, there is much to memorize:

*In the name of...(cross yourself)

*The Creed

*Our Father...

*Hail Mary...

*Glory Be...

*Oh, My Jesus...

*Hail Holy Queen...

*Oh God, Whose...

*(Announce new mystery)

She and I would sit at the camper table that folded out from the wall and pray together.  I snuck in unscented tea lights and a lighter I took from my parents.  She never approved, but also never stopped me from lighting them and setting them around the camper to create atmosphere.  She collected small pamphlets from the church we went to that had a vague 60’s design and smelled of inscents for me.  We spent hours going over each prayer together.  It was our secret along with hidden candy and copies of the Box Car Children that morphed into my obsession with works by Charles Dickens.  She later bought me a wooden rosary when she felt I had earned it.  I kept it in an old ring box held closed by one of her hair ties for years until I forgot it at a previous relationship’s apartment.  It has most likely found its way to the trash by now.  I have always disagreed with the old school fetishism of the rosary as an object of worship when it is meant as a memory aid.

In a strange way, I find myself falling back into old habits of waking up early and working towards memorizing something.  It is a stretch to associate the two, but you cannot always help the connections your mind makes.  It would be more fun if I was in a musty camper, surrounded by glowing stolen tea lights and my childhood friend again.

If it ain't raining, it ain't training!

Earlier today I changed my FB status to: Lisa Maria Reese is about to go do group PT in the pissing rain. A good photographer friend responded by commenting If it ain’t raining, it ain’t training. A fun maxim he undoubtedly gleaned from his paramilitary days.  I read this after doing a paperwork shuffle in the recruiting office on my iPhone.  It made me smile.  English weather has to be similar to the Northwest.

My first group PT went well and has given me something to consider when I hit the gym tomorrow morning.  The walking lunges turned my legs to jelly.  At one point I thought I was going to fall sideways on the wet astroturf, but had enough sense to use my hands to stabilize myself.  This is something that will be added to my workout ASAP.  On the run my shins bothered me and I was forced to stop a few times, which was extremely aggravating.  It broke my stride and I had a harder time regaining it.  My running shoes have finally blown out and I always find out the hard way.  Until next Wednesday—shin exercises and a trip to an outlet mall for a new pair that hopefully will not require me to sell my left kidney on the black market.

One of the other recruits brought their german shepherd with them.  It ran with us wagging its tail until a park caretaker pointed out the dog needed to be leashed or in a car.  Throughout our jumping jacks it whined tied to the fence behind us.  Hearing him made me think we wrongfully entrapped the Littlest Hobo with promises of a deflated plastic football and aggressive head rubs.  Strange things cross my mind when fatigue sets in.  I blame my photographer friend for this one.

Bohemian Studios Photography takes to the sea!

The Origin of Bohemian Studios Photography

Bohemian Studios Photography began as something of a pipe dream in 2008 when I was enrolled in my department’s first class on business practices for photographers.  At the time I was playing around with the idea of being a freelance photographer.  This was also around the same time I became interested in environmental portraiture.  I knew my limitations and was aware I needed stronger technical skills before I could begin to establish a reputable foundation for myself.  Like everything I undertake, I invested myself passionately on improving my eye and understanding the business aspects of what it means to be a professional photographer.  Something I have come to understand as generally not provided within liberal arts universities.

The Current Status of Bohemian Studios Photography

It is now 2010 and Bohemian Studios Photography has matured into something more in-between the part-times jobs and finishing up my time at Saint Edward’s University.  I have gone through several modest business plan drafts, each one a bit more informed and accommodating.  The move from Austin, TX back to Olympia, WA was a big change for myself and for BSP as a whole.  To move forward I needed to take a few steps back.  Being back in Washington has given me the fresh start I had been craving while working through my last semester.  Ever since I moved to Austin, TX for school I was miserably homesick.  I needed to revisit home before I could go back into the world again to search for my meaning of happiness, professional stability and work towards where I want to find myself ten years from now.

Since coming home my short term goals have been accomplished:  my writing has improved (short fiction and within this blog) and I am currently working on several independent photo essays and local coverage ideas to be implemented in the near future.

The biggest change for Bohemian Studios Photography occurred when I enlisted active duty in the US Navy as a Mass Communications Specialist last month.  It has taken me until now to find the personal time and words to express how this is going to change the direction of Bohemian Studios Photography.

The Future of Bohemian Studios Photography

Bohemian Studios Photography is taking to the sea!  Enlisting as a Mass Communications Specialist is giving me the chance to build a career effectively where in previous plans would have been, to put it mildly, a challenge.  For now I am uncertain where this decision will lead me, but I am confident it will provide me with the means to accomplish what I want most:  to become a better photographer and storyteller.

Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest | The Beginning

"For 500 generations they flourished until newcomers came... much was lost; much was devalued, but much was also hidden away in the hearts of the dispossessed...

...Their voices insist upon a hearing and the cumulative wisdom of their long residence in this land offers rich insights to those willing to listen. The challenge now is to find a way to make knowledge of the ancient traditions, the experience of change and the living reality accessible and available..."

excerpt from Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest: An Introduction by David M. Buerge

***

There has been much talk over the years about the death of photojournalism and yet dedicated photojournalists around the globe continue to produce work and are rewarded for their efforts because they have learned to adapt to an industry in flux finding new and creative ways of funding.  In essence, photojournalism’s old mode of coverage has grown stale due to a possible influx of NGO photography work that focuses on the most destitute aspects of a country they work within.

Relevancy:  this is the atmosphere I am entering as a beginning photojournalist.

Stories, both true and fictitious, are a universal commonality we all share.  Without stories we would not have a history, we would not have something to look back upon that is reflective of what we once were and, possibly, still are.  Storytelling is as innately a part of who I am as my need for air, food, shelter and love.  Since returning to the Northwest from my stint as a university student I have renewed my interest in the Native American people of the Pacific Northwest.  Reservations are all along the Pacific coast and the namesake of many cities in Washington state have a Native American origin.  Despite their presence many people are unaware of the histories and people who once populated those areas.

This work is a double affirmation for the life of photojournalism and continued culture of a people who have been grievously overlooked throughout American history.  I will be looking for more cultural events in the future and keeping this blog more active than it has been of late.

120 Film Series | A Modern Girl’s Room

Before Emily’s portrait, I’d been mentoring her on the basics of shooting a successful portrait.  The one skill I stressed with her was how a photographer should treat their subject.  Interacting with them in both a confident and comforting way yields best results.  It doesn’t matter how well you can doctor an image after the shoot, a person’s expression is either a hit or miss that you, as the photographer, should have enough influence over to capture the right moment.  Watching her work reminded me when I floundered in anxiety over whether or not I had the right manual settings and possessed no sense of light.  It’s both strange and liberating to be growing outside of an academic environment and watching someone else make the same choice I have.

Her session was unique in the sense I was working with another photographer.  Her suggestions were well thought out and I didn’t have to forego the usual explanations because she was familiar with what I was trying out.  Initially, we discussed several outdoor settings that would emphasize her petiteness.  Those shots didn’t come out as planned.  Oddly enough, the last minute idea I had to shoot the last several exposures in her room turned out to be the best ones out of the 12 we took.  Her room is a fun reflection of the person she is and the kind of room I wanted when I was her age, but wasn’t allowed to ruin the walls with tape and posters my mum didn’t approve of.  We had a great time and I’m extremely pleased with how her images came out.  Emily is a talented girl and wonderful person to work with.

120 Film Series | Americana Man

I approached my friend, Alex San Martin, a while ago to sit for me for the 120 Film Series and he agreed.  By this point I had amassed a strong collection of images and was in the process of fine tuning them down to what is currently shown.  Prior to the shoot I’ve taken my laptop to his apartment a handful of times to share my work with him and a Saint Arnold’s beer.  He’s graciously sat through my project outlines, approach to family portraits and a myriad of other things I’ve brought over for him to see.  Nothing pleases me more than someone who takes a genuine interest in my work, working methods and company.  By the time I asked him he jokingly told me he was impatiently waiting for me to ask.

The first place I wanted to go was the small corner store close by his apartment called Nau’s Enfield Drugstore.  We’ve been there a few times for root beer floats and sandwiches.  It’s one of my absolute favorite places in Austin, TX.  His checkered shirt and personal demeanor clicked with the cluttered shelves and old cooking appliances.  Nau’s is a family owned drugstore and diner so when we went inside to shoot we asked one of the relations if we could borrow the space for a moment; wonderfully friendly and obliging people.  Because of Alex’s dark hair and square jawline I decided to go black and white for his series.  Out of the three I’m most please with the image that came from there.

After the shoot, he told me he would’ve done it even if he hadn’t seen my work because I’m a pleasant person to be around.  The comment was reassuring because at the time I was still struggling with how to make my subject feel relaxed and trust me.  No one likes having their picture taken because there’s always the off chance of something epically unflattering to happen.  I know my sensitivity to having my picture taken has been heightened because a majority of my friends aren’t photographers, but hail from different disciplines.  It was nice to be told my approach was working the way I had wanted it to.

120 Film Series | Portrait of a Ghostwriter

This sequence of images was a mild turning point in the series.  Before I asked her if she would mind sitting for me, I noticed I had more young men than women.  The imbalance didn’t bother me until I made several cuts that further emphasized the difference.  The need for a semblance of balance became apparent and I began calling all of my female friends and acquaintances to see if they wouldn’t mind sitting for me.  Thankfully, one of the first to cheerfully volunteer was my talented writer friend, Rachel Brownlow.  Last January I shot a non-profit function for a mutual friend of ours and she’s been following my work since then.  I’m glad she agreed and we had a fun time chatting and setting up shots.

The theme we discussed was connected with how she likes to go to coffee shops to read, write and for a change of scenery from working in her apartment.  It’s something I’m also in the habit of doing and miss several coffee places in Austin, TX I used to frequent when I needed a change.  I can’t explain the connection with delicate pastries, coffee and something to read/work on.  It’s a stereotype I can live with.

The result of the shoot was phenomenal.  I had a difficult time boiling it down to three images because there was a fourth image I really enjoyed.  My favorite of the three I eventually settled on was the one with her steady gaze into the lens.  While shooting I was concerned it was too bright outside, but the end result came out better than I had anticipated.  The light over her face falls in just the right amount, making her eyes more prominent.  I like to think she’s looking at you with authority over what she has in her hand, which is the The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

120 Film Series | Perfect Mistake

 

This is one of my favorite portraits of the series and also caused me a great deal of grief.  After several weeks of timidly broaching the shoot with RW, I decided to be bold and show up at his dorm room with a bottle of Chimay and a convincing argument—you just have to, you’re remarkably photogenic!  He knew I was stopping by with a surprise, but wasn’t expecting to be plied with expensive beer for an impromptu portrait shoot.  I hid my camera against the wall near his door, but forgot to take off my light meter.  He knew what it meant, shook his head and invited me in.

After a plastic cup of Chimay and an easy walk through of how I generally load film, I set up the dozen simple shots that were boiled down to what you see now.  Since my first portrait series with the brothers, sisters and priests of Congregation of Holy Cross I’ve gotten into the habit of waiting until I’m on sight to load my film.  As much as I love my clunky Mamiya, the back of it has a pesky quirk of popping open when I least expect it.  I also take a moment to discuss with my subject how they see themselves, how they want the images to look, put them at ease, etc.  I explained to him how I wanted his to have a minimalistic feel to it.  Dorm rooms typically have cream colored walls and imitation woodgrain shelving and furniture.  What struck me were the grooves in the wall and positioned my shots to take advantage of it.

Then the worst thing happened:  Ten exposures in I realized I had the ISO still set to 800 from the last shoot when it should have been 100, the actual speed of my film.  I didn’t just push the film, I shoved it over a cliff.  I was too busy chatting and feeling pleased with myself that I skipped over a crucial setting.  My stomach dropped.  I shot the last few images and jokingly told RW to brace himself for a second shoot, but didn’t let on how I potentially screwed the entire roll.  He laughed and told me as I was leaving how he hoped he didn’t break my camera with his ugly mug.  Fat chance.

The next day I rushed over to Holland Photos and explained the huge faux pas I committed the other night.  I was told there was still a chance it would be fine and they would call me if it wasn’t the case.  The two days I waited for the roll felt like an eternity.  I was convinced it was going look extremely grainy and under exposed, but no one called.  When I went in to collect it I tore the box open and was relieved to see how well they turned out.  At the time they had the best use of available light, the color balance I wanted was spot on and they were clean.  I wish all of my absent-minded mistakes turned out half as well as this one did.

View the rest of the 120 Film Series

120 Film Series | The First Session

I approached two young neighbor friends to see if they would mind being my first two rolls and they accepted.  The following day I went over with film falling out of my pocket eager to begin.  Nathan answered the door half asleep.  It was about 2:30 pm and the boys weren't ready.  It gave me a moment to collect my thoughts as they ran around their tiny place, a strange mirror of my own apartment, splashing water on their faces, brewing coffee and taking in the "morning" cigarette.  I told them to take their time.  Colton expressed a desire for natural space and something close by.  It was the kind of start I wanted.

I shot Colton in several places around the apartment and by the field out back of the apartment complex.  A while ago we flew one dollar kites with glow sticks attached to them at night.  The most successful of the group was the one we started with.  Colton leisurely standing on the AC units of his apartment finishing his last cigarette.  Palm Square in San Marcos, TX was the worst apartment complex and area I've ever lived at, but it turned out to be the perfect setting for Colton's portrait.

View the rest of the 120 Film Series

Working Guidelines for Portraiture/Social Documentary Work

Environmental portraiture and photojournalism are my two greatest passions (along with writing fiction).  The first project I took notice of was when I was in 3rd grade.  There was a poster on the wall I used to pause in front of before I ran out for recess with the other children.  Years later in university I came across a book called Material World:  A Global Family Portrait.  The picture I admired in grade school was on the cover.  Around that time I changed my degree plan to photography and creative writing.  The degree plan change was further enforced by this discovery.  Since that moment I've endeavored to photograph people from personal acquaintances to people I've asked to sit for me.

The first thing I learned while working with people is that it takes finesse.  It's a mistake to assume you can grab anyone, choose an area and walk away after 5 minutes of shooting with a practiced eye.  Through trial and error, I've developed a basic set of rules for myself:

• I ask my subjects/clients how they see themselves.  A successful shoot begins when your client/subject is briefed before a shoot about what will take place and given the opportunity to express ideas and expectations of how they want the finished product to be.  I've found this approach invaluable because there have been instances in the past where my client's/subject's feedback positively influenced the direction of the project/shoot.
• Small talk and jokes while working are a must.  From my experience, the more comfortable they are about you and your camera the better the image will be.  I've gone so far as to let several of my past subjects/clients take a moment to shoot me.
• Refreshments.  There have been times when a shoot began with a quick stop at the grocery store for a 6 pack.  After the first beer, we were ready to go and I'm convinced if we hadn't taken a moment to relax and chat the shoot wouldn't have been as successful as it was.
• Clients aside:  Taking the time to make small prints of what you've shot and giving them back to your subject is a consideration I do my best to remember.  It's a small gesture that, from my experience, gives a completed project a satisfactory feeling or helps with the continuation of your shooting schedule.
• Above all else:  Communication, Communication, Communication!

Each photographer has their own personal set of dos and don'ts for how to collaborate with their client/subject.  For in the end, a portrait or a social documentary project is a collaboration of efforts and desires.  A tenuous relationship that can either make or ruin the end result of your shoot.