The Beauty of...People

When I first began photography, I had a strange phobia of taking pictures of people. It was all about capturing plants, the tall buildings of Downtown Los Angeles, and hidden markets that only locals knew about. I never truly appreciated how important it was to capture the people who grow those plants, occupy each part of those tall buildings, and work long hours in those hidden markets to provide for themselves and their families. People would ask me why I never took photos of people, and I would give them the same response:

"I don't see the point in taking pictures of people."

What is the importance of taking pictures of people? Why are many photographer so interested in capturing people? These are questions that never made sense to me until I took this photo. 

Starfield Library, South Korea, Spring of 2019. Uniquely known for its extremely tall book shelves that lie in the center of the library, it makes itself known as one of the most important places to visit in South Korea. I walked into the COEX mall with one goal in mind: to capture the tall shelves that everyone is in awe over. It's places like these where experiencing it in person feels just as amazing as seeing it virtually. 

The library had every kind of book you could imagine in every language. Hemingway, Shakespeare, and even a book full of Georgia O'Keefe's photography. I took a book from one of the surrounding shelves and sat down in the upstairs area where I had a view of the giant filled books shelves that lie in the center. As I looked up, I noticed a couple walking towards the shelves. The girlfriend attempted to reach for a book but was struggling to do so. Her boyfriend held her with one arm and helped her in reach the book. It was this moment that I felt was so perfect to capture. After all, it's rare candid moments like these that you don't see everyday. 

I came back to the hotel viewing this photo again. As I was ready to post it, I took a good look at it again and began to form different questions. 

"Who are they? How did they meet? Why did they come to library? What book was she trying to reach?"

It then struck me that this was the beauty behind capturing people in photos. People give life to things. Each person and their story is unique. They make simple places such as libraries, stores, and restaurants special through their presence. The Starfield Library was not just an architecturally significant place that day, but it was where a couple finally bonded after not having seen each other in weeks, where a college student stressed out from midterms needed a studious ambiance to study, where a man in his 40s dressed in a business suit and a Rolex was in search for the perfect book for his wife's birthday, and a place where a young girl who would eventually become a writer in her 20s picked up her first book. 

When we capture a photo of a person, we're capturing more than just the body they inhibit, but also the stories they hold and continue to create.