I hope you all enjoyed my tips last week regarding capturing real emotion from your clients during a shoot. Those were just the tip of the iceberg! I hope you are all ready to digest even more capturing real emotion tips!
1. Let the kids be kids- This one obviously is specific to family sessions. I think that the best, most memorable and cutest images come from when you let the kids be themselves. I know that parents want their kids to behave in these situations and I understand that. I know everyone wants the photo of everyone smiling that you can give to Grandma and put in a frame. However, I’m a huge advocate of just documenting the kids running around, playing with sticks and just having an overall good time. These photos will show their personality and reflect who they were at that age.
2. Ask for something silly- Be bold. Don’t be afraid to ask for something silly. Not because you want to document what you asked for necessarily, but more because you want to document the reaction you get. For example you could say “ok now Mike on this shot I want you to grab Stephanie’s butt on 3 ready?! One, Two THREE!” Hopefully your clients at least get a laugh out of this! You can also ask them to hug like they haven’t seen each other in weeks and document that emotion, or ask either of them to whisper in the others ear the #1 thing they love most about them.
3. In between moments- SHOOT THEM! When you’re just chatting with your clients don’t forget to have your camera ready for those in between moments. Trust me those moments are your friend.
4. Do your homework- Do a little Internet stalking, we’ve all done it let’s just call it out right now. Find out a bit about your clients so you can know ahead of time who they are and adjust your approach accordingly. Or you can send them a pre engagement get to you know you questionnaire. Then you can use those facts in the shoot. Do they share a huge love of eating ice cream at sunset? Use it in the shoot!
5. Take a series of photos- I know this can end up with more photos to cull through later….buuuuuut it can also help capture that one real laugh amongst the other looks that sandwiched that real and beautiful moment!
6. Act a fool- This is mainly good for photographing children. Heck I would hate to see myself when I’m photographing kids. I’m singing songs, making silly noises, shaking around stuff animals right above my camera, and asking silly questions to the kids. It will all be worth it later when you view the photos! TRUST ME!
