Faces Of The Day

Justin Crowe sets the scene:

Photographer Jedediah Johnson has a phobia of making out. In a similar way that a person may confront a fear of heights by skydiving, Johnson is confronting his fear by making out with lots of people and leaving brightly colored lipstick behind as evidence.

To prep each subject for their portrait Johnson applies bright pink lipstick to his lips and places his hand gently on their neck; he then shares a strange but intimate moment kissing them. A photo is snapped following the makeout session and the evidence of the mysterious moment is documented for viewers to imagine for themselves what the actual kiss was like. Johnson explains, “The kisses vary in length and intimacy. My subjects are all aware of what I’m going to do ahead of time, but in the moment of the kiss anything can happen. The lipstick mark I leave on my subjects invites viewers to imagine the circumstances surrounding the kiss.”

A less ominous portrait after the jump:

More of Johnson’s work here.