I think I really hate "setting up photos"

ZombieArmy · 07-04-2015, 03:52 PM

Is anyone else like this? I'm a big fan of candid work, and taking pictures of things "how they are". Nothing irks me more than having to direct people into something "optimal", it just feels fake to me.

**boriscleto** · 07-04-2015, 04:05 PM

Then don't.

sherrvonne · 07-04-2015, 04:09 PM - **2 Likes**

Getting any of my family to pose for a nice photo is like nailing jello to the wall.

**jatrax** · 07-04-2015, 04:11 PM - **1 Like**

I don't shoot people. Simple.

ZombieArmy · 07-04-2015, 04:24 PM

Originally posted by jatrax

I don't shoot people. Simple.

Seems like an elegant solution.

MD Optofonik · 07-04-2015, 04:28 PM

Originally posted by sherrvonne

... nailing jello to the wall.

LOL, that is awesomely funny.

sherrvonne · 07-04-2015, 04:41 PM

My family shots look something akin to either comedy sketches or funny farms, take your pick but hilarious whichever way, but none are normal or 'portrait' like.

**patrick9** · 07-04-2015, 04:52 PM

Originally posted by sherrvonne

Getting any of my family to pose for a nice photo is like nailing jello to the wall.

My 2 oldest grandsons are that way. Thwey think the best thing in the world is to mess up the shot.

tvdtvdtvd · 07-04-2015, 04:54 PM

I'm with you. I hate posing people and always appreciate when they don't pose for me. Much prefer to
shoot candidly.

noelpolar · 07-04-2015, 05:30 PM

300mm lens for me! Best people shots that way.

**interested_observer** · 07-04-2015, 05:31 PM

My inlaws want a family photo of the four of us (wife, our 2 sons and me). I have a camera, just take a picture for us, they say.... My wife tells me - that if I take a picture of her, I'll be "dead before the image is recorded on the memory card", and no jury in the world would ever convict her...

- I'll stick to landscapes.

davek · 07-04-2015, 05:36 PM

My father could convince the grandkids to sit to get one good shot, then we would take a picture of everyone making a funny face. Worked great, and we have some hilarious pictures, even at weddings. I know other families do it now.

alamo5000 · 07-04-2015, 05:54 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by ZombieArmy

Is anyone else like this? I'm a big fan of candid work, and taking pictures of things "how they are". Nothing irks me more than having to direct people into something "optimal", it just feels fake to me.

I think there is a difference in what you are talking about and what other people (like myself) aim to do. Having a person 'cooperate' with the shot is key... after that it's up to you and your skills how the interaction goes.

If you're like 'stand here, go there, get that smirk off your face, look interested in XYZ' or whatever... that's not a good interaction.

I took this one a little while back. I was standing on the street and these high school kids came up and were playing around so I played around with them and got a good laugh... so next thing you know I am looking around for opportunities... and one of them was asking if I could take her picture... so I just got it all set up in like 30 seconds and 'snap'.

Interaction with people isn't the same thing as ordering people around into some kind of pristine pose. Get em to lighten up and be themselves and try to capture that, if even for a split second.

---------- Post added 07-04-15 at 07:58 PM ----------

Here is an excellent video that I really enjoyed.

You Tube

magkelly · 07-04-2015, 09:17 PM - **1 Like**

Nah, not me. I enjoy the process entirely too much actually. I've always had a thing for faces, for portraiture. Even as a kid I was snipping shots from fashion magazines and the nasty gossip magazines my Gran was hooked on and making scrapbooks and collages of pics I liked. I still do that. I am always collecting pics of people online, studying them. I'm actually pretty good at directing people and getting them to do what I need them to do.

I have studied posing some but it comes pretty naturally ordering people around and posing them as I like. I am actually into more natural looking poses. I like to see my people relaxed and having fun, no forced smiles or model/dancer hands. I'm pretty blunt about it too. I think I make people smile just by how I sass them when they start doing that. I'm like "Stop that stiff back nonsense. You look more like a zombie than a person!" Or "What do you think you're doing dancing for Bill Fosse? Knock it off with the jazz hands!" I'm terrible. I'm always cracking jokes and totally messing with people. Anything that gets people to laugh ends up relaxing them and making them smile.

I infinitely prefer photographing people to landscapes, shrug, but I do have my anti-social moments where I get tired of wrangling them and want to be off on my own photographing whatever. I limit my shoots with people, try to vary what kind of portrait shoots I am doing. That helps. I can't stand to be doing the same thing for weeks on end. One day I'm doing a kid or pet shoot, the next it's an entertainer's or model's book, then later that week it's a boudoir shoot. I have to shake it up, make it varied. I get cranky doing the same thing all the time. One month for some reason all I got was baby shoots. I actually like doing babies but by the end of the first week I was ready for a vacation. After that month I couldn't stand the idea of doing another one for a while and I didn't.

This is one of the major reasons I never do weddings. Besides all the time involved and the stress it's just plain boring to me the idea of shooting weddings all the time. Weddings are fun for the people in them. Being around them all the time, making it my job? I'd go stark raving. I'm way too much of a cynic when it comes to love and marriage and too well aware that statistically speaking half of the people I'd be shooting will be in divorce court before a decade has gone by. The thought, it's just plain depressing. I just can't take much joy from doing that kind of work.

Not to mention shooting huge crowds of people is tough. I've watched my one teacher do it. He does tons of them and I've second shot him a couple of times. Inevitably someone is going to spoil that shot. There's always some fool in the bridal party who can't help but smile like a toothy lunatic or who can't help but prank the bride and groom by putting his tongue out at just the wrong moment or something similarly idiotic. Weddings, they are too annoying. Even when I was just participating in them, as a bridesmaid or whatever I never did like them.

I had to shoot a very large family reunion too once. It was interesting that's for sure, but I doubt I'd take on another one. I like small, intimate studio shoots, with me and maybe 1-4 people, the fewer the better. That's it. I can shoot big groups, but I really don't like to.

Brooke Meyer · 07-05-2015, 01:25 AM

Originally posted by ZombieArmy

Is anyone else like this? I'm a big fan of candid work, and taking pictures of things "how they are". Nothing irks me more than having to direct people into something "optimal", it just feels fake to me.

Unless you're willing to invest a lot of time in study and practice, it will feel uncomfortable & artificial. Take lots and lot of family snapshots, the opportunities pass far too quickly. If you want something more, hire someone who has the experience and skill and fits in with your family.

07-04-2015, 03:52 PM	#1
ZombieArmy Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Florida Posts: 3,210	I think I really hate "setting up photos" Is anyone else like this? I'm a big fan of candid work, and taking pictures of things "how they are". Nothing irks me more than having to direct people into something "optimal", it just feels fake to me.

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07-04-2015, 04:05 PM	#2
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Then don't.

07-04-2015, 04:09 PM - 2 Likes	#3
sherrvonne Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,975	Getting any of my family to pose for a nice photo is like nailing jello to the wall.

07-04-2015, 04:11 PM - 1 Like	#4
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	I don't shoot people. Simple.

07-04-2015, 04:24 PM	#5
ZombieArmy Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Florida Posts: 3,210 Original Poster	Originally posted by jatrax I don't shoot people. Simple. Seems like an elegant solution.

07-04-2015, 04:28 PM	#6
MD Optofonik Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 962	Originally posted by sherrvonne ... nailing jello to the wall. LOL, that is awesomely funny.

07-04-2015, 04:41 PM	#7
sherrvonne Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,975	My family shots look something akin to either comedy sketches or funny farms, take your pick but hilarious whichever way, but none are normal or 'portrait' like.

07-04-2015, 04:52 PM	#8
patrick9 Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Murfreesboro Tennessee Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,458	Originally posted by sherrvonne Getting any of my family to pose for a nice photo is like nailing jello to the wall. My 2 oldest grandsons are that way. Thwey think the best thing in the world is to mess up the shot.

07-04-2015, 04:54 PM	#9
tvdtvdtvd Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,665	I'm with you. I hate posing people and always appreciate when they don't pose for me. Much prefer to shoot candidly.

07-04-2015, 05:30 PM	#10
noelpolar Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Goolwa, SA Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,310	300mm lens for me! Best people shots that way.

07-04-2015, 05:31 PM	#11
interested_observer Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tumbleweed, Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,707	My inlaws want a family photo of the four of us (wife, our 2 sons and me). I have a camera, just take a picture for us, they say.... My wife tells me - that if I take a picture of her, I'll be "dead before the image is recorded on the memory card", and no jury in the world would ever convict her... - I'll stick to landscapes.

07-04-2015, 05:36 PM	#12
davek Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Elmira, On, Canada Posts: 461	My father could convince the grandkids to sit to get one good shot, then we would take a picture of everyone making a funny face. Worked great, and we have some hilarious pictures, even at weddings. I know other families do it now.

07-04-2015, 09:17 PM - 1 Like	#14
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	Nah, not me. I enjoy the process entirely too much actually. I've always had a thing for faces, for portraiture. Even as a kid I was snipping shots from fashion magazines and the nasty gossip magazines my Gran was hooked on and making scrapbooks and collages of pics I liked. I still do that. I am always collecting pics of people online, studying them. I'm actually pretty good at directing people and getting them to do what I need them to do. I have studied posing some but it comes pretty naturally ordering people around and posing them as I like. I am actually into more natural looking poses. I like to see my people relaxed and having fun, no forced smiles or model/dancer hands. I'm pretty blunt about it too. I think I make people smile just by how I sass them when they start doing that. I'm like "Stop that stiff back nonsense. You look more like a zombie than a person!" Or "What do you think you're doing dancing for Bill Fosse? Knock it off with the jazz hands!" I'm terrible. I'm always cracking jokes and totally messing with people. Anything that gets people to laugh ends up relaxing them and making them smile. I infinitely prefer photographing people to landscapes, shrug, but I do have my anti-social moments where I get tired of wrangling them and want to be off on my own photographing whatever. I limit my shoots with people, try to vary what kind of portrait shoots I am doing. That helps. I can't stand to be doing the same thing for weeks on end. One day I'm doing a kid or pet shoot, the next it's an entertainer's or model's book, then later that week it's a boudoir shoot. I have to shake it up, make it varied. I get cranky doing the same thing all the time. One month for some reason all I got was baby shoots. I actually like doing babies but by the end of the first week I was ready for a vacation. After that month I couldn't stand the idea of doing another one for a while and I didn't. This is one of the major reasons I never do weddings. Besides all the time involved and the stress it's just plain boring to me the idea of shooting weddings all the time. Weddings are fun for the people in them. Being around them all the time, making it my job? I'd go stark raving. I'm way too much of a cynic when it comes to love and marriage and too well aware that statistically speaking half of the people I'd be shooting will be in divorce court before a decade has gone by. The thought, it's just plain depressing. I just can't take much joy from doing that kind of work. Not to mention shooting huge crowds of people is tough. I've watched my one teacher do it. He does tons of them and I've second shot him a couple of times. Inevitably someone is going to spoil that shot. There's always some fool in the bridal party who can't help but smile like a toothy lunatic or who can't help but prank the bride and groom by putting his tongue out at just the wrong moment or something similarly idiotic. Weddings, they are too annoying. Even when I was just participating in them, as a bridesmaid or whatever I never did like them. I had to shoot a very large family reunion too once. It was interesting that's for sure, but I doubt I'd take on another one. I like small, intimate studio shoots, with me and maybe 1-4 people, the fewer the better. That's it. I can shoot big groups, but I really don't like to.

07-05-2015, 01:25 AM	#15
Brooke Meyer Guest	Originally posted by ZombieArmy Is anyone else like this? I'm a big fan of candid work, and taking pictures of things "how they are". Nothing irks me more than having to direct people into something "optimal", it just feels fake to me. Unless you're willing to invest a lot of time in study and practice, it will feel uncomfortable & artificial. Take lots and lot of family snapshots, the opportunities pass far too quickly. If you want something more, hire someone who has the experience and skill and fits in with your family.