Melanie Menard, UK / France – When photographing people getting ready for performing, I start working as a discrete, neutral observer, and let them lead the dialogue in the way that suits their need of the moment, be it small talk, venting, or intimate confession, or ignore me if they prefer. By using this method, I aim for the subject to be in control of the photographer-subject dynamic, in the hope that the resulting images will provide snapshots of the subject’s mental state at the moment the picture was taken, rather a predetermined vision I may have had of them.

Feb 1, 2018