Help to move "out of the box" so to speak.

[flmonline]

It was suggested to me recently that I might want to get away from some of my posed shots to more spontaneous shots of engaged couples, etc. I feel like you need to have the right personalities to work with for shots like this. Some couples are more serious then others. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am an experienced wedding and family portrait photographer and love photographing children or families in either their environment or at location of their choosing. I prefer and favor the photo journalistic style of photography, but also do traditional portraits as well. I am experimenting with angle shots now and enjoying the results. Any ideas on getting more "spontaneous" shots would be appreciated. Thanks

[sk66]

Honestly, the "key" to getting more spontaneous pics is YOU, not your clients or anything else....

It's a personality thing and some are just better at it (I'm not). It is a "skill" that can be learned, but since I'm not good at it I can't offer any pointers....

[Nobie]

I think a lot of it has to do with how comfortable people are around the photographer. I think some of that can be learned, some cannot. I have a few professional photographer friends and work with few others as well for my job, and each one has their own vibe for lack of a better term. Some I don't feel comfortable with even pointing a camera at me, others I could pick my nose naked in front of them and be completely fine with.

In all seriousness, a class or two at your local college in psychology, sociology, or human relations (or whatever class it is I am trying to think of) could actually be your best photography class ever.

[candidrachel]

The key to more spontaneous shots are to shoot loads! Don't be backwards about coming forwards. I shoot hundreds of shots in one photoshoot.

Weddings I normally take about 900 photos.

Even a trip to the park I took over 250 and we were only there 1 hour.

Here are a few examples of the style I take: