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A place to politely discuss the tools, technique and culture of photography.

This is not a good place to simply share cool photos/videos or promote your own work and projects, but rather a place to discuss photography as an art and post things that would be of interest to other photographers.

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Do you have tips to make people act natural during portraits please? (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by IM_YOL0O@alien.top to c/photography@viewfinder.pro

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My question is basically the title itself, but if I have to give more context, I'd say:

I really love raw/natural pictures: smiles, persons, laughs, lights, landscapes, scenes... And sometimes I can capture these moments but sometimes I miss my shot and want to "redo" it when I take a picture of someone. The thing is, once I ask them if I can take a picture of them, their body just, just does not act as natural. Some people (including me) do not know what to do with their body in front of a camera, so they often just stand up straight. I figured out something (maybe) that kinda works: I make them laugh or I ask them to do somthing that requires more movement, like jumping, but you can guess that I'm not always funny or I do not always have something to say, or I do not always want my subject to jump.

So please I'd really like some advices/tips/help

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[–] GeneralChillMen@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Two things I use that have worked fairly well for me:

-Get the group all together, and just before you start shooting say, "OK now pretend like you all like each other." Usually gets a fairly genuine laugh/smile from everyone.

-Have two people stand next to each other, tell them to make a serious face while looking directly at each other. Then all you gotta do is repeat, "OK now whatever you do, don't laugh. DO NOT LAUGH." That combination is almost always guaranteed to make them smile and/or laugh genuinely.

[–] IM_YOL0O@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That's a really good advice! Thank you I'll write that down.
But do you have tips for portraits with only one person?

[–] GeneralChillMen@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The "Whatever you do don't laugh" trick can work on a single person in my experience. Again, start off by telling them to do a serious face first. You also gotta draw it out a bit when you're telling them not to laugh, but say it in kind of an exaggerated way that'll be more likely to cause them to break.

[–] IM_YOL0O@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Oh ok, I'll try that

[–] yungfototakr@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I do a lot of senior portraits, and it actually really helps when a parent and/or friend is there! I require a parent’s presence for minors anyway, but it’s always been an extra bonus that the parent is someone they’re familiar and comfortable with. I rely on mom/dad jokes to kind of break the ice, and then I encourage interaction with me/the camera, actual movement into a pose instead of a frozen pose, and I try to be as silly as possible to get some laughs.

[–] alohadave@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

-Get the group all together, and just before you start shooting say, "OK now pretend like you all like each other." Usually gets a fairly genuine laugh/smile from everyone.

I do this for group shots at events. People tend to stand shoulder to shoulder, and saying this usually gets them closer together.