Julia Morozzi Bedroom Kisses 1: A Little Closer
Julia Morozzi Bedroom Kisses 1: A Little Closer Backstage
Julia Morozzi Bedroom Kisses 1 is a title that seems to lean toward the camera before I have even touched a setting. Sweet, a little mischievous, and quite confident about getting my attention. It succeeds.
As a photographer, I spend a surprising amount of time thinking about distance. Not just how far I stand from someone, but how close a photograph feels to the person looking at it. Those are two very different things. A camera can be near and still make everything feel formal. Or a photograph can feel wonderfully personal without trying too hard.
A title like Bedroom Kisses puts that thought right at the front of my mind. It suggests closeness, but I don't think closeness needs to be shouted. If I start treating every frame as though it has to announce itself, I tend to lose the part that interests me most.
And yes, I know. That is a lot of thought to put into a kiss. You would think I was applying for permission from the Department of Camera Distance. :)
What I enjoy about photographing Julia is the chance to think about that balance. I want a photo set to have its own rhythm, somewhere between inviting the viewer in and giving the moment room to breathe. My job isn't to make every picture say the same thing a little louder. It is to notice when a small change in perspective gives a picture a different feeling.
That is also where my favourite kind of playful tension lives. The title says one thing very plainly. My photographer's brain immediately starts asking twenty questions. How close is too close? When should I step back? Am I paying attention to the whole picture, or have I become completely distracted by one detail?
That last question is usually the dangerous one for me. If my camera had a button labelled ‘Stop Overthinking and Take the Picture,’ I would probably spend ten minutes deciding when to press it.
The nice thing about a photo set is that I don't have to answer everything in one frame. There is room for a change of pace. A picture can invite you nearer, and the next can give you a moment to look again. I like working with that feeling more than trying to force a single grand statement out of the camera. Grand statements are exhausting. I have enough to manage with my camera settings.
And then there is the little number at the end of the title. Bedroom Kisses 1. It makes me smile because it sounds so tidy, as if kisses could ever be filed away in a perfectly numbered system. I can just imagine myself reaching for a clipboard. That would be a very efficient way to ruin the mood.
For me, that is the charm of Julia Morozzi's MetArtX photo set. Its title can make me smile, while the photographs remind me why I enjoy this work: looking carefully, choosing what to hold onto, and knowing when to give a moment some space.
Even if the title keeps telling me to come a little closer.
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