Steve McCurry - Initial Shots Influence

A photographer whose work I have been admiring for a while is that of photojournalist Steve McCurry. He is best known for his photograph known as "Afghan Girl" (pictured below.) McCurry took his most recognized portrait in a refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan. The photograph has been likened to Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Mona Lisa and has since been referred to as "The First World's Third World Mona Lisa."
The subject of this photo remained unknown for 17 years until she was formally identified as Sharbat Gula.  

Sharbat Gula, aged 12. 

The story behind this photo goes that one morning, whilst at a refugee camp, McCurry heard voices come from one of the tents. He then found out it was a learning zone for the girls who were in the refuge. The teacher allowed him to come into the tent to have a look around, when he noticed one extraordinary girl who he describes had "the most amazing, piercing blue-green-grey eyes." McCurry instantly realised he was in a situation which he claims was "amazing", he knew he had the opportunity to take a spectacular portrait. 
In order to put his subject at ease, he took photographs of her classmates, to create a circumstance where she would feel comfortable, and not excluded. He then had to work up to the moment where he had her in a situation where she was looking directly at the camera, and so he took a few pictures to make her feel more relaxed. 
He then took a photo of the subject with her hands up by her face, but he believed the lighting wasn't quite right and the connection he got wasn't as strong as he wanted it to be. According to McCurry, "she was trying to be modest. It's not really correct for a man to photograph an Afghan woman past puberty, but in the case of a girl it is totally permissible." Then, the teacher coached her and told her it was important for them to get the story out about the refugee camps. She said it was important to let the world know what they looked like, what kind of condition they were living in... So the girl dropped her hands and at that precise moment, McCurry says "the lighting was right, the tent in the background was perfectly contrasting, and she just looked directly into my lens; and for literally just two exposures, two frames, I got this really concentrated, focused, very intense look on her face. Then it was gone. She thought I had made the picture, that it was over, and she literally jumped up and went back to her friends." 
As he had to ship the film back to Washington, it wasn't until two/three months later that McCurry actually got to see the results. When he actually got to see the picture, the photo editor said it was too "disturbing" to have on the cover of the magazine, before suggesting not to show it to the editor. Eventually they compromised and the editor was shown the photo. The moment the editor saw the photo he leapt to his feet and said "there's our next cover."  

If you want to see Steve McCurry tell the story himself, have a look at this link. 
I was attracted to McCurry's image 'Afghan Girl' because the emotion her eyes are communicating is very clear, and that is insecurity and fear. I want my portraits to be striking, and although I don't believe they will be as striking as that of McCurry's, but that is what I am aiming for.