John Loengard
[Photographer, editor, and critic, b. 1934, New York, lives in New York.]
Perishability in a photograph is important in a picture. If a photograph looks perishable we say, “Gee, I’m glad I have that moment.”
In my head I think, “There is a beautiful picture here and by God, short of murder, I’m going to get it. So shut up and hold still!” But what I say is: “You look wonderful. It’ll just take a minute. It’s marvelous. We’re doing something very special.”
If I’m close on the face, expression doesn’t exist. The face becomes a landscape of the lakes of the eyes and the hills of the nose.