In many cases I am unfamiliar with my subjects and this gives me freedom to interpret them in any way I want.
Such is human nature that when we see a person we instantly make a judgement of some sort. We are trying to guess what kind of person this is, what kind of social status he/she has, etc, etc.
And, as my personal experience shows, very often we are wrong in our judgments. But it doesn't really matter, because the chances are that we will never have to interact with this people, will never meet them again. No one will be able to tell us whether we were right or wrong. What matters is how did they reflect at us. How did we change from that glimpse on a passerby.
Same is with photo. We look at a portrait, and we think that we feel the person who is depicted on it. But, as again, my personal experience shows - it's only an illusion. We are just passing a quick judgement on someone, whose life is a total mystery for us, based on a quick glimpse on the frozen moment. What are the chances that we will be able to make an accurate judgment having almost no leads, almost no evidences of any sort?
But then again - it doesn't matter. What matters is if the photo moved you in one way or another. If it made you feel something, think of something, to empathize somehow... All the rest is just an illusion.
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