Originally posted by Aaron28 that makes a big difference....the connection whatever it may be....which leads to 'comfortable & confident'.....I don't have much experience but some that I have shot and made that 'connection' have made much better results
btw very nice images!
Thanks, Aaron, I liked the setup for the pool table pictures you posted, you should revisit that because with that lighting and a relatively dark background, some dramatic photos are possible!
And yes, I find the keepers come from the last thirty minutes, not the first thirty.
In my experience, just telling someone to 'relax' is a pretty empty thing, it'll have the opposite effect.
The first few shots will help clear their nerves, but they will still have quite contrived poses and expressions, with a bit of defensiveness tossed in. It takes a bit to get past the automatic selfie looks people put on these days when a lens is pointed at them.
But if you haven't stopped talking and listening … it works both ways … and concentrate on what the two of you have in common (I said I'd liked Paris, but could've lived in Nice!), trust and acceptance does happen. Especially if you don't stop to fiddle or check gear, we have to master all that beforehand, like an infantryman stripping and reassembling his rifle blindfolded, so we're totally devoted to our subject, and not some camera or lens or strobe. Silence between clicks is a mood killer.
The pics that come out of this 'acceptance of the situation' phase will eventually be much more natural. Quite pleasant, but dull. They're so relaxed the shots will be 'low energy'. Time to get them to do more interesting things. When you've got enough to cover the bases of what the other person was hoping to get out of the session, you can move onto the shots you want - a strong superwoman pose, legs apart. Vulnerable with side lighting. Very, very close with a wide angle. Whatever. And by now, hopefully they're up for the challenge, you're creative partners, now! Your own banter, conversation and movements need to match the mood the shot requires because the two of you are now in some sense linked in a way you weren't half an hour beforehand.
Julie is a non-model, and as I said, French, so having two different cultures extends the first contact phase a little bit, but the final one, once we understood each other (and you can show them the results on the back of the screen to encourage doing it a little differently for the next shot without it being taken as criticism) was effortless.
Really sweet person, too, which always helps.
Last edited by clackers; 02-07-2020 at 12:02 AM.