Agreeable Strangers by Charles Chessler
By (author): Charles Chessler
Title: Agreeable Strangers
Subtitle: Street Portraits
Blurb:
“I don’t want to know your personal business, but I’d like you to take a deep, deep breath and think about how you’re really, really, REALLY feeling right now and then look directly into my lens”.
This is what I ask people to do when a random, “agreeable” stranger says “yes” and allows me to take a quick street portrait of them.
Agreeable Strangers is a lifelong personal project that I began in 2011.
I was just starting to pay attention to photographing people and went on a photo walk with B&H Photo, one of the two major camera stores in NYC.
On the walk we were tasked with photographing strangers around St. Marks Place. I was nervous at the beginning, both because of trying to get a decent photo and because of approaching strangers with my camera. But by the end of the walk, I was hooked. The joy of the interaction, of having a random moment with a stranger who was agreeable, left me very inspired.
As you see from the images, these are direct interactions. I approach people, my camera on my shoulder, tell them about the project and ask whether I can take a quick coupla photos of them.
The “ask” goes something like this:
“Hi. May I ask you a quick question? My name is Charles Chessler and I’m a photographer. I’ve been doing a project called “Agreeable Strangers” for about 14 years. The project is about sharing the beautiful diversity of people I see everywhere I go. You have a great look and the light here is really lovely. May I take a quick photo of you?”
Many say “Yes” right away. Some are interested but cautious so I’ll explain a little more and show them my Instagram and they’ll then frequently say “Yes”, as well. If I get a hard “No”, I never push it and I say “No worries. I totally get it.” and I move on to the next face that inspires me. It is “Agreeable” Strangers, after all.
After I get my “Yes” I tell them that I’m going to ask them to do one thing, which I describe above, in the first paragraph.
This serves to slow everything down. It makes for a nice connection very quickly while respecting their privacy.
I then take 2 or 3 clicks and that’s it.
Sometimes people get inspired and ask for a few more clicks. I oblige, of course.
I’ll then give them my card and tell them I’d be happy to send them the file if they wish.
Agreeable Strangers is my way of documenting, witnessing and celebrating the beautiful diversity of people I see in NYC and anyplace else that I’m fortunate enough to visit.
ISBN: 978-87-7620-565-2
Book language: English
Publishing house: Snap Collective
Website: www.snap-collective.com
Editorial Assistant: Natalia Manole
Designer: Anastasia Gushan
Published on: in production
Category: Art
Price (€): 129
Keywords: streetportrait, agreeablestrangers, people, sharedhumanity, randomencounter, portraits, photography, street photography