What am i to do!?

[RedGoblinz]

So, ill be photographing a few of my friends during the end of this year for free. They've asked me what clothes they should wear, at first i told them they should wear anything they look best in, so they'll think they look great in the photo in the dress, meaning they'll like the photos.

But then, i thought of how distracting the clothes may be, leading any other viewers eyes away from the face, so i told them to just wear simple clothes, like long jeans (to cover up the skin, that pulls your eyes towards) and plain T-shirts.

What i wanna know is, what should i ask them to wear? Or should i just let them choose the simplest best looking set of clothes they have? I'll be shooting them in a park in the morning. around an hour after sunrise, i would also love to know how you guys work in a portrait session, example:

10 mins ice breaking, etc...

Thanks for your input!

[SusanH1970]

I tell my clients to avoid loud prints, logos, and characters. Timeless and classic is the key. I also tell them to avoid matching exactly (although some do that anyway...sigh...lol), but coordinated works well.

Here's an example of a family I photographed recently - I was teasing the mom, saying I wish I could hire her to style all of my clients!

[kelleyrie]

I like colors and patterns and prints but a lot of the time it depends on the style of shoot I'm doing and the location and their personalities.
If I'm taking portraits of three energetic children I want bright colors and patterns. A low key couple's engagement photos on the beach would be casual and easy with a neutral color palette. Maternity sessions I like an ethereal feel, so flowy clothes and pale colors.
Just play off of the client and their personality and what they want out of the shoot and you'll know what they should wear.

[wal]

Originally Posted by RedGoblinz

So, ill be photographing a few of my friends during the end of this year for free. They've asked me what clothes they should wear, at first i told them they should wear anything they look best in, so they'll think they look great in the photo in the dress, meaning they'll like the photos.

But then, i thought of how distracting the clothes may be, leading any other viewers eyes away from the face, so i told them to just wear simple clothes, like long jeans (to cover up the skin, that pulls your eyes towards) and plain T-shirts.

What i wanna know is, what should i ask them to wear? Or should i just let them choose the simplest best looking set of clothes they have? I'll be shooting them in a park in the morning. around an hour after sunrise, i would also love to know how you guys work in a portrait session, example:

10 mins ice breaking, etc...

Thanks for your input!

photographing your friends and for free...?? well, have fun, relax..and act a bit crazy.. maybe you'll get some great shots. memorable ones.?

[RedGoblinz]

Originally Posted by wal

photographing your friends and for free...?? well, have fun, relax..and act a bit crazy.. maybe you'll get some great shots. memorable ones.?

Well, cant charge yet, im only 14!
Anyways, i just wanted to know how a real photoshoot with a stranger would be like. May someone please shed some light about it?

[wal]

At 14.. you're of of a good start asking these questions... Want to know what it would be like.? well why dont you try it out yourself.

If you are talking about taking posed, studio like, professional portraits for payments, that maybe a bit too complicated at first..Try going out on the street, bring along a friend with you. Take portraits of strangers that you meet.. do like the "100 stranger per-day project" or something like that.. Approach with a smile and explain what you're doing. Ask permission, initiate a conversation.. and you'd be surprised at the results..
It helps build your own character too...
Owh.. and try not to drag the conversation too long, and act as professional as you can. Who knows maybe you get something interesting.

[Gulf Coast Girl]

Bring a bottle of nail polish remover and some cotton balls. Never ceases to amaze me that people would hire a photographer and then have chipped nail polish on every finger. It's soooo tacky and it's the first thing I notice in the photographs.

[RedGoblinz]

wal- You mean try a real shoot with a real stranger? i'm not very sure if im ready! (I find myself to be limiting myself because of my age.)
Well, posing is something i wanna try out, but i barely know anything about it, theres one thing i wanna know. How many pictures do you actually dish out after a photoshoot for someone? 10? How many various poses are there?

You mean street portraiture? Seeing other people's results have made me want to try it out, but never had the guts to really go for it.

[RLucas]

Look at photographers you admire, and see what they do with their clients. A lot of them will even put a "what to wear" section on their site.
If you are doing this with friends, you shouldn't be too intimidated. Have fun with it, and experiment. As far as poses go, there are literally thousands. You can see trends on different sites as well.
Here is a link to the top of this forum that has tons of examples of different poses. Some of them hae the cheese factor, but it should give you some ideas.
Examples of Poses

[karen_s]

Well I am more of a doggie photographer than a peoples one but there are couple of things I have found to help when working with humans ...

1. Talk to them while your shooting and ask comfortable softball type questions. If you are a funny kinda person, that can only help.

2. If you have more than one person in a photo, get them to squeeze together real close for a few shots. It may seem uncomfortable to them but it does tend to make for better photos. Sometimes the uncomfortableness will make them laugh and that can be good too.

3. If you have more than one person in a shot, watch to make sure you have enough depth of field to get all their faces well focused (unless of course you intentionally want them out of focus 'cause you are trying something different.)

And at 14, just have fun, try new things, and don't be scared to take a crappy shot. My hard drive is full of them.