Photography

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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 10 months 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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[–] IM_YOL0O@alien.top 1 points 10 months 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 10 months 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 10 months ago

Oh ok, I'll try that

[–] yungfototakr@alien.top 1 points 10 months 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.