Strike a Pose {Be Successful with Erin}

‘Look at each other and smile!’  ‘Pretend I’m not here and act naturally’  ‘Make out for the next couple minutes’ (While I shove a big camera & lens in your face).

Sound familiar? If you’re a portrait photographer who attempts to photograph people in natural poses with natural expressions it can get tricky. Unless you consider yourself a lifestyle/documentary photographer where you adjust very little and simply photograph ‘real life’, you have to create the space for ‘natural magic’ to happen.

We can get so comfortable and familiar behind the camera that we forget what it feels like in front of it. It can be pretty awkward and uncomfortable. (side note…I suggest you become friends with other photographers and make a point to be each other’s subjects…often. Being on the other side will help you to become a better photographer and communicator!)

Today’s post is some show and tell. I’ll show you pics and tell you the cues I gave my ‘peeps’ (people…’subjects’ just sounds so formal and so does ‘client’…hee hee) to get them into the positions I wanted them in.  I don’t have a set ‘playlist’ so to speak for my sessions. I come up with ideas as the session progresses and base what I do off of the personalities and interactions of my ‘peeps’ ;)

FAMILY SESSION:

The day of this session it was chilly and windy so I started with this adorable little family snuggled on the enclosed bench out of the wind. I then stepped back to give some space and started a conversation with the little girl. In this first pic I asked her to give her daddy a hug and whisper something special in his ear. Since the girl had been the one talking and moving, both mom and dad were already focused on her.

 

I had her hop down and spend some time next to mom after shooting several frames with her on dad’s side. I continued the conversation and asked questions/threw out topics for her to talk to her parents about. They were actually interacting vs just ‘staring at each other with a smile’. During the conversation I found out she had nicknamed her future brother ‘Tree’ so I asked her to give ‘Tree’ a hug (bottom pic)

 

We were at a small park and had the area to ourselves so while I took some pics of just mom and dad, the girl entertained herself by playing in the leaves. This is pretty much what was going on if I had taken a panoramic picture of the scene.  In the image of mom and dad, I told him to slowly whisper into her ear five things he loves about her as a mom. (They ordered a print of that one too and it’s one of her favorite images from the session)

 

Because the girl had such a fun time playing in the leaves I decided to include it in the session. She threw them into the air herself like in the above pic but I wanted to get mom and dad in on it too. So I had them make it rain. I had her count to 3 and on three she was ready for the rain to start. When photographing children I often give them a little input into the session if they’re old enough. I talk to them to see what areas they like and pay attention to what they’re drawn to. If they’re interested, it makes my job a little easier!

 

COUPLES SESSION:

By this point we had already spent some time shooting. I usually start sessions farther away from my ‘peeps’ and give them and myself time to warm up. I know some photographers start by having a couple walk together and then observe how they move and interact. My approach depends on the circumstances and the people. Whatever you do, I suggest giving time for the ‘peeps’ to relax and get over the initial stiffness of being in front of a camera. Unless you’re working with a professional model, chances are you won’t get the results you’re hoping for if you say ‘Hi, nice to meet you, please sit here’ and then immediately get up close and personal with a 50mm prime lens in their face :) As you progress through the session you’ll get to know each other more and will have more to work from. Be sure to ask questions and really make the  session time all about making them feel important.

For these images I had her stand still close to the net and him a few steps behind her. I told him to slowly walk up and wrap his arms around her in a big embrace. I told her to grab onto his arms and lean into him. I had my camera down and gave the directions for what to do while I was talking to them face to face. For the bigger positioning make sure you’re connecting directly with your ‘peeps’. Don’t hide behind the camera. Once I had my settings right, I held it up to my face while I told him to go.

 

For these next images I had them alternate whispering into each others ears five things they love about each other.  They changed position on their own as they took turns talking. It gave me time to shoot several different compositions of the same scene.

 

While they were talking to each other I noticed a unique way they were holding hands. It easily lent itself to him kissing her hand. So I directed him to do so.

 

They mentioned that they like to dance. So to get into the next pose I had him stand still with his left arm outstretched and holding her right hand. Then he pulled her into him and she twirled around like a dance move.

 

For a modification of the same position I had him snuggle in close and she raised her hand to her hat. Nice ring pic ;) (And for weddings you often have a very limited window of time. It is beneficial to create opportunities where you can shoot several different images without having to change up the positions!)

 

Since this was a ‘trash the dress’ session our last stop was the beach. Before these images he dipped her. I liked their hand placement and body positioning so I had them kiss. By this point they were relaxed and more comfortable with kissing while a camera clicked just a few feet away. This image would not have worked the same way at the beginning of the session.

 

And finally, sometimes when the ‘peeps’ are completely relaxed and enjoying themselves, the magic happens without direction. This was the very end and they were doing their own thing in the water while I watched from the shore.

 

 

So there you have it! Hopefully that helped get the creative juices flowing for ways you can spice up your portrait sessions! Please leave any questions you have in the comments section or on the Delight FB page. I’ll be happy to further illustrate anything you want clarification on or further discussion about :)