Survivors

"Joan" and "Brigid" co-write a blog, Enemy In the Wire, on military sexual trauma, and shared their story with reporter Max Freud, as part of a story advancing last week's free screening of The Invisible War. The film will be shown again at the Bijou at the University of Iowa Aug. 24-30. I encourage you to read Max's story, which also discusses the military's response and support for victims.

I knew a few days before the shoot that I was to photograph them without showing their faces. Some research in stock photo archives didn't turn up anything particularly inspiring, because of the degree to which I needed to obscure their facial features. Our photo intern, Nikole Hanna, joined me in the studio for some test shots that I could show to Joan and Brigid before we started shooting. The photo at left had more light on Nikole's face than I thought they would be comfortable with, but it was easy enough to kill that light. I was afraid we'd be left with plain silhouettes, but luckily the women arrived with black t-shirts printed with "SURVIVOR" and their military ribbons. We rigged up some snoots with foil and gaffers tape to light only their shirts, and Nikole and Max held black cards to block any light from spilling onto their faces. I played with backlighting, but that made their features too recognizable. Our Elinchroms were missing their reflectors and grids, so we got creative with more tape and clamps. (Usually we use the Speedotron studio lights, but I wanted the greater control offered by the Elinchroms.) It's not always pretty behind the scenes... The top left photo shows the basic setup: a grid on the backdrop, and snoots for both of the women.

I did something unusual on this shoot: I showed Joan and Brigid the photos for approval. As a general rule, we don't show subjects their photos or the story before it prints. This portrait was an exception to that rule, working with them as collaborators as well as subjects. Showing them Nikole's test photos before we even began let them understand the concept and put them at ease that I wasn't showing their faces. As I shot and adjusted lights, I would show them a frame so they could see what I was seeing from behind the camera, and this gave them a chance to express any concerns. While Max spoke with them after the shoot, I narrowed down a selection of images to show them once more. But even with all that we did to mask their identities, Brigid was recognized by some people, as she mentioned on their blog. I had hoped that wouldn't happen, but the people closest to us can recognize even the smallest detail. I have so much admiration for Joan and Brigid, and I hope their story encourages survivors to reach out for help.