Lou Noble
Interview • Feb 25, 2021 by Scott Marlin
Photo © Lou Noble
“We’d experiment, try to wow each other. The community inspired each other, which then led us all to get better.”
As a photographer, writer and ardent defender of hobbyism in photography, Lou Noble has been around the block a few times. The LA native and editor-in-chief of The Photographic Journal has been an active member of the photographic community since the early days of Flickr. Last year he came full circle with his roots on the platform, taking up the pen for the Flickr blog where he now holds court monthly on topics like diversity in photography and how to feel empowered in your art without going pro.
Whether scrolling through Lou’s formidable album of Polaroids online, reading his thought-provoking interviews on TPJ, or simply perusing his warm and introspective Flickr captions, there’s much to love and to learn from his body of work.
I was thrilled with the chance to catch up with Lou to talk about building trust as a portrait photographer, learning from your network, working with interesting subjects, and what it all has in common with talking to people at parties.
Photo © Lou Noble
Welcome to the zine, Lou! Glad to have you on. So, you’ve been seriously interested in photography since the early days of Flickr, but going back to the beginning a bit, what was it that put the fire in you?
It was a very low-key hobby from 18 to around 25, I would carry a Polaroid around, take pictures while at parties, that sort of thing. Really just a way of recording life.
I’d say it wasn’t until Flickr that I was able to key into photography as a passion. Figuring out what kind of pictures I wanted to take, right alongside someone recommending the Polaroid 680, those two things together really stoked the flames. Once I started meeting up with other Flickr members, I was off to the races.
During that early Flickr period, I was mainly inspired by other Flickr photographers. All the Polaroid people I became friends with, just great stuff: Julia Galdo, Greg McManus, Drew Baker, Tod Brilliant, Traci Matlock.
Were there any specific mentors or relationships that accelerated your learning?
No real mentors, gotta say. Because, especially back then, I wasn’t looking at photography as something that required a teacher, or mentor. It was just a bunch of folks having fun online. Improving was merely a side-effect of the communal fun.We’d experiment, try to wow each other. The community inspired each other, which then led us all to get better.
So yeah, it was far more a matter of the relationships fostering experimentation and a striving to improve. The Polaroid crew I was a part of back in 2007–2008 was huge for that. Another photographer, Kevin Mason, flew me to England in 2010 to run a few portrait workshops, and our conversations around that event helped me think about photography in a far deeper way, as did breaking down my own work in order to teach it to others.
And I’d say, without a doubt, interviewing people for TPJ led to huge leaps in my understanding of and relationship to photography. The Chris Buck interview, the Elinor Carucci interview, the Gregory Crewdson interview, those in particular were incredibly inspiring.
Photo © Lou Noble
“For me, art is something I do that is separate from having to make money… I create when I want, as often as I want, what I want.”
So when during all this did you find yourself begin writing about photography?
From the beginning of my time on Flickr, I’d write increasingly-long descriptions. Occasionally, there wouldn’t be much of a story to go along with the picture, so I’d just start talking about whatever was going on in my head at the time… which was often about photography.
Did writing lead naturally to editing and, ultimately, your role with TPJ?
My working with TPJ is entirely due to the founder, Agustin Sanchez, asking me to come on board. First I was just doing the occasional interview, but I enjoyed it so much, I started taking on more responsibilities. The two of us share an enormous love of photography, which made working together incredibly easy.
That love shines through, for sure. You were saying that those interviews have had an impact on your relationship with and understanding of photography?
Oh, it’s been an immense influence on how I engage with and practice photography. It basically feels like a series of masterclasses, getting to interact with up and coming photographers, interview dozens of working professionals, some of whom are my all-time favorite photographers. It’s greatly expanded my awareness of technique and subject matter, and introduced me to loads of fantastic work.
Photo © Lou Noble
The hobby of photography is such a big part of your approach. Specifically, your efforts to keep photography just that, a hobby, not a job. This defies a powerful undertow in our culture. Many learning photographers feel pressured to make money, grow a following, etc., as a way to legitimize their passion. But you’ve forged a different, very successful path, and I’d love to hear more about it. What has keeping photography personal meant for your creative growth?
To put it simply, I think the undertow you speak of is a direct result of how toxic our current understanding of capitalism is. The “hustle” economy is, in my opinion, borne of severe income instability and people’s desperation to find some lifeboat out of the constant threat of poverty.
The idea that something I enjoy should have to produce… I find that notion nauseating. For me, art is something I do that is separate from having to make money, separate from capitalism. There are no pressures on my art. I create when I want, as often as I want, what I want. As far as my own creative growth, it’s been slow and tends to occur in fits and starts, because there’s no need for it to be otherwise.
I don’t bemoan anyone who makes art for money. My issue isn’t with the individual, but with a system that encourages people to compromise whatever joy they find in the practice of art itself, just so they can eat.
Photo © Lou Noble
What advice would you offer a budding photographer who’s beginning to feel the pull to professionalize, and at the same time trying to assess if that’s right for them?
Go for it! Most importantly about the previous answer, it works for me, and that’s why I do it. I think it’s crucial for everyone to decide for themselves what the right path is. For me, turning a hobby you love into a profession is one of the most vicious life traps out there, but I’ve got several friends who are overjoyed that they get to make a living doing the thing they love.
I’d say if someone is feeling that pull, if the opportunities are presenting themselves, go for it. If the idea repulses them… have them email me, I’ll lay out a different way to do things.
As a portrait photographer, your rapport is so evident in your subjects’ warmth, openness, and at times vulnerability. How do you think about building trust with a new subject? What are the tells of when an exchange is working or not?
It’s all about conversation. If you’re good at talking to people, you’ll be good at building rapport during a photo shoot. I’m usually talking incessantly during a shoot, though not really giving much in the way of direction.
If you show interest in the person you’re photographing, they’ll recognize that, respond in kind. That’s the heart of it, for me. I’m using photography to get to know someone better. So it begins with that intent.
The tells are exactly the same as when you’re talking to someone at a party. If they’re engaged, participating in the conversation, you’re doing fine. If they seem bored, if they’re not responding that much, if they’re distracted, you’re blowing it.
Photo © Lou Noble
“Portraiture will always be exciting, because every subject is different. Everyone’s got a story that, if I do my part, I’ll get to hear.”
Would you be willing to tell the story of an interesting or unusual (for you) subject-photographer experience? What did you learn?
That’s a tough one. I’m a bit reticent to single any one person out, as the most unusual subjects are usually those who are a bit… off kilter? I can say that, on the occasions I’ve photographed (or just encountered) someone who is perhaps not on the same … wavelength as … the rest of us, it can be incredibly fascinating to just stay on their level. Engage them as you would anyone else, and inevitably you end up hearing something amazing, fascinating, or insane.
On the topic of keeping things fresh, what games or challenges are keeping the practice of seeing and making images exciting for you these days?
Well, I haven’t really been shooting for the last few months, so no challenges at all! I’ve got one planned for tomorrow, only challenge will be to see if I can still take pictures, after all this time off!
One thing I noticed, looking at my archive recently: I often go back to models/subjects, shoot people several times. I find someone I enjoy working with, I try to keep that relationship going. The struggle becomes, how can I keep each shoot fresh, keep it interesting for both myself and my subject.
Tomorrow’s model is someone I’ve shot over a dozen times, so it’ll be interesting to see how I can keep it fresh. As of right now, 12 hours before the shoot, I’ve got zero ideas!
Photo © Lou Noble
Through your unique window into the field, what possibilities for photography still excite you? What strikes you as urgent and important about photography right now?
Portraiture will always be exciting, because every subject is different. Everyone’s got a story that, if I do my part, I’ll get to hear.
And photography will always be important because of its ability to convey information and feeling to those who cannot experience it directly. I don’t think any new technology will supplant that.
Before we go, do you mind if we talk about 2020 a little bit? Maybe I’m a chronic optimist, but I see cause for hope in some of the cultural shifts that the crises of 2020 drove (are still driving). I am wondering if you’d be willing to talk about something that 2020 awakened in you creatively. How has this changed your path forward?
Oof. I’d say that 2020 has given me the opportunity to write more specifically about photography, so that’s… nice? Flickr gave me a monthly “column,” and I’ve been able to synthesize a lot of disparate ideas I’ve had into those pieces. But if I had the choice, it sure wasn’t worth it! Gimme a 2020 without the pandemic, I’ll snap it up in an instant.
2020 was something I endured, rather than something I saw as an opportunity. I don’t imagine I’ll do anything different. TPJ continues apace, I’ll keep shooting. I can’t help but think of 2020 as an enormous wound. It may heal, but it’ll always be more about loss than anything gained.
I think that’s an apt metaphor. Like all wounds, painful, humbling, and its healing will be a process. Well, I think I speak for many of us when I say how much it means to hear how unshaken your resolve is to continue writing, shooting, and sharing. Thank you for speaking with us!
Thanks for having me.
Photo © Lou Noble
About Lou Noble
Lou Noble is editor-in-chief of The Photographic Journal and a columnist for Flickr’s Photographer Spotlight Blog. See his portfolio on louobedlam.com and follow his latest on Flickr and Instagram @louobedlam.
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