What I learned from my first shoot

[szuzu1969]

What I learned from my first photo shoot that was planned and not just a spur of the moment idea. It was a big eye opener and gave me alot to think about.

1. I had planned to take pics at sunset but their schedule changed and they need me to change mine. Which meant scouting out new pose areas.

2. The Dad wore a doo rag for the first time ever and refused to remove it.

3. The mom did not comb her hair very well and there are fly aways all over the place.

4. Children can be a handful and I need to figure out how to coax and cajole better.

5. The poses and places I scouted were not used because the mom had found one she liked better. (lots of sky is not better)

6. The hour I had planned to take the pics turned into 3 because things kept getting added.

7. The family wanted to see the pics in the camera and actually picked it up to go thru and see them.They were family but I had already told them no.

8. The longer the shoot takes the less control I have over it.

9. I LOVE TAKING PICTURES OF FAMILIES!!!!

10. I will be taking more pics to work some the kinks out of my time fiddling with settings.

Back story, the family is family. They are my kids cousins and very close to them. The pictures will be bought by the family thru my photolab. I will be doing some post but these are meant to be a Christmas present so I will not be charging. No I will not be giving out a disc of images so that is not an issue. Just thought some of the pros might get a giggle from the list. I do listen to your advice and comments but having the reality shoved in your face is a bit different. Oh and the most important thing I learned is have fun but know what you are doing.

[Izzy]

Sounds like you had your hands full. Family or not the shoot is over the second they would touch my camera. It also sounds like you went away with a great learning experience from this. May your future shoots be much easier, they are not all this hard.


Keep Shooting

[szuzu1969]

Thanks I did learn a great deal and we were done when they did the camera thing. I was not happy and pulled it from their hands. I have a whole new list of things to look up in my books and on the forums. Thanks for the encouragement.

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by szuzu1969

Thanks I did learn a great deal and we were done when they did the camera thing. I was not happy and pulled it from their hands. I have a whole new list of things to look up in my books and on the forums. Thanks for the encouragement.

Sounds to me like they were just treating you like a relative with a camera, not a photographer who was working. It appears that they weren't respecting boundaries, and that you allowed them to get away with that. I suppose it may be easier for you to assert yourself with folks who arent as comfortable with you. Glad you enjoyed yourself though..

[Murtasma]

Grow a pair and tell them you know what your doing and that their scenic choice isn't as good as your for these reason (list the reasons) tell them you would be happy to do their location after you take pictures at yours.

Offer more positive feedback to the family so they don't feel the need to look at the images. I know they are friends and family so it's very easy for them to step over the boundary and even easier for you to let them. Sounds like you got had your hands full, its good you experienced these problems with friends and family instead of a complete strangers for the firs time.

Stick up for yourself a little more and you'll do just fine.

[szuzu1969]

Growin a pair as we speak lol. I will be more direct in the future. I agree they were really treating me like family. I started using the directions like "Dad can you look over here or Mom can you move your hand down just a little" to try and distance myself from them a little. It was a big eye opener doing this and I will definitely be forming a better game plan for next time. I need to say that I had more fun than trouble and thanks so much for the tips Niresangwa and Murtasma

[Jim Bryant]

I always have a time limit built into my contracts. And before the shoot give parents a set of guideline choices as what to wear. And under no circumstances do they get to look on the back of my camera at the unprocessed images.

[BK553]

I send my portrait clients a PDF a couple days before the shoot about what to wear and expect. Basically, bold, solid colors, collared shirts (or at least long sleeves) for guys, simple jewelry for women. These are of course just guidelines, and they are still free to wear whatever they want. I've just found that these give the best results. I've found that most people try at least a little to follow it unless they have a very good idea about what they want ahead of time.

[szuzu1969]

Originally Posted by BK553

I send my portrait clients a PDF a couple days before the shoot about what to wear and expect. Basically, bold, solid colors, collared shirts (or at least long sleeves) for guys, simple jewelry for women. These are of course just guidelines, and they are still free to wear whatever they want. I've just found that these give the best results. I've found that most people try at least a little to follow it unless they have a very good idea about what they want ahead of time.

The PDF is a good idea then there is something they can reference. I did express the need for solid colors and long sleeves and they did follow my lead with black shirts all around. I will definitely put something together for the next time. Thanks.

[szuzu1969]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

I always have a time limit built into my contracts. And before the shoot give parents a set of guideline choices as what to wear. And under no circumstances do they get to look on the back of my camera at the unprocessed images.

A time limit would have been ideal. It seemed that for every pose we did someone thought of two more they wanted to try. I started out being particular on my shots. The longer it went though the more cranky they got and the more pics I had to take hoping to catch a great one. I did not like that at all. And don't worry the camera issue will never happen again either.