In the book store this morning I spent a great deal of time looking at The Here and Now: The Photography of Sam Jones. Jones is a very well known photographer who is most famous for his celebrity and advertising (which often features celebrities) work. The book is an impressive collection of celebrity portraits. I didn't buy a copy but only because Borders has it for $40 in the store and I can order it from Amazon for $26. I'm going to buy it and I very much recommend that anyone interested in portrait photography buys it as well. Some of the images are eleborate set pieces including costumes, props and staged locations while others are direct, intimate headshots. All are very interesting and give the portrait photographer lots to examine and think about.

So while all the images in the book are good and interesting and while I encourage you to buy the book that's not what this post is about. This post is about one image in the book, a shot of Tom Cruise that was used for a Time Magazine cover story. The cover story is from 2002, well before any of Cruise's couch jumping or his railing against anti-depression medications. In other words, the image was taken well before any of us started thinking Tom Cruise is crazy. I imagine that when the magazine came out the image was perceived as one of a handsome, charismatic movie star. He looks pretty and has a satisfied grin in the image, like he's got the world on a string as the expression goes. The unfocused colors in the background call to mind stage lights as if to remind us that "this is a movie star" while the deep, deep stare would seem to indicate that viewers can and should trust this man.

Looking at the image this morning in the book store my immediate thought was "wow, he looks like a crazy, charismatic cult leader. He's very frightening." Obviously I'm looking at this image with the Cruise Scientology video still very fresh in my mind. The unfocused lights in the background make me think today of all the science fiction stuff the religion purportedly believes. That satisfied grin? It makes him appear to me like a smug manipulator. Like he knows exactly what to say and how to behave in any situation to get what he wants and that he finds himself quite superior to most everyone else.

All this is to note how much context, current events and individualism very much influence how an image is perceived. As a photographer you cannot always decide when or how your images are displayed but when you can control those things it's wise to put a great deal of time and thought into the details that will influence how your images are received. This includes putting them in context when appropriate, including text descriptions, making sure prints are appropriate sizes, etc.