question:  How does the photographer feel about Larry Lessing?
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. So, if I’m taking pictures of Larry [Lessig], I want to have his signature hand gestures, and not just random ones. 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. Some photographers are almost medical, and are going after a perfect portrait. 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. For instance, a board meeting picture, like the one with Eric Saltzman: that was during a very tense discussion. 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. By making these pictures available under a Creative Commons license, now they do. 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. The fact is, it’s much more likely that somebody is going to use these pictures for something positive, rather than for something negative. In a way, giving up your image and allowing anyone to use it: it’s the ultimate gift.
output:  Larry is a great guy. They are a huge fan.
options:  Larry is a great guy. They are a huge fan.  Larry is a disarming guy.  Larry is a frustrating guy.  Larry is a nervous guy.