question:  How does the author try to disarm their subjects?
context: Just another free soul In his foreword to the book, Lessig writes that you understand your subjects “by learning to see them in a certain way.” I’m trying to capture what I think they look like, which is many times a minority of their typical expressions, or their typical stance. Some photographers will make someone look the way the photographer wants them to look, and not the way they appear, so they’ll pick the one picture out of 100 where the guy looks more egotistical than he really is. To me, uploading a picture that is not an easily recognizable picture of that person defeats the point, which I’m working toward, to try to express who they are. On the other hand, professional photographers usually have a subject whom they don’t know personally, so they end up having to try to capture an image that they’ve created based on who they think the person is or how they want that person to appear. What I’m trying to do is free someone’s soul from his or her image. After half an hour of having their picture taken, people start to ignore you. I think good photographers are also able to disarm people through conversation, but still, it’s difficult to have a disarming conversation with somebody you don’t know, or to make them laugh. A freesoul is somewhat of a pun. And then, it also has the meaning that you are unencumbered legally, that you are free, as in ‘free software.’ This means that a lot of people who have a Net presence have a legally encumbered Net presence. The third part of the pun is that, since I’m asking for a model release from the subjects, I’m asking everyone to be much more open and giving about their image than most people typically are. Of course people can abuse that, just like they can abuse anything. In a way, giving up your image and allowing anyone to use it: it’s the ultimate gift.
output:  Engaging them in conversation
options:  Engaging them in conversation  Telling them a personal story  Highlighting their best angles  Making silly faces or gestures