A few questions for the experienced

[ottojoe]

Hi all I have a few questions I hope to hear others responses to similar experiences. I have only just recently began shooting people and word is spreading very fast. I dont really want to make a career of this but I do really enjoy shooting people I know. Now friends of friends are calling me and I have already set up several more shoots in the next several months.

I am only charging for expenses - and only for supply expenses. I am building a portfolio and am asking permission to use shots in this portfolio. I am very upfront about being a total beginner. I prefer more candid shots over very posed shots.

Ok, so here are the questions.

Everyone wants location shots. How do you get people to state locations that mean something to them? I am always asked where I want to take shots - we live in an area that is pretty good and several location ideas. I am 30-40 minutes away from large city - L.A., open desert, mountains and lakes and beach areas, Palm Springs, etc. How can I ask this question differently to get some feedback on what they want? Most of these people are from this area and have been here quiet some time they must have some kind of emotional connections to someplace.

Also - Children. I love em and get along great with them. But how do I overcome what parents have taught children about when they get in front of a camera? I talk and joke with them we have a great time and see such wonderful expressive faces and when I lift up the camera I get cheesy grins, strange faces and forced espressions. One kid, everytime the camera went up, looked away to the side. When I asked the parents what was up with that, they said the granparents take a lot of pictures and always ask him to look away? I have tried toys and props but cant seem to connect the same as when the camera is not in front of my face.

How do you communicate with parents for their ideas? I always ask if they have ever seen a shot, etc. that they like. Rarely get a good answer and I seem to get a family of clay robots waiting for me to sit them in certain locations, etc. I do understand that if someone is expecting a photographer to take their shots then they are expecting some direction but this is very strange to me that on the other hand they do have some expectations of what they want from a photographic session.

Lastly - how do I control myself on numbers of shots. I recently did a family shoot. I took over 560 pictures within 2 hours. I thought I would be trashing most but when I narrowed it down to good shots (or at least shots that I thought the parents would like) I still had over 480. When I ran through photoshop and printed proof sheets I was about 6 hours into work and could not get the parents to agree on photos that they may want printed up, etc. I ended up at their house for over 3 hours and they kept asking me which ones I would pick.

I hate when I ask for input here that I seem to be rambling but hope anyone who reads this understands where I am coming from. I love photography as a hobby, want everyone to be happy with their shots but I also have a full time job (50-60 hours) and just want the families to remember that they got some of the best family shots they have ever gotten from me - but it almost seems to become such a chore on both sides.

Any feedback would be great.

[Japaslavian]

Location: Some people just don't really care about the location. They just want the shot. It helps to suggest some places that you know of to get them thinking. If they don't come up with anything, they'll just choose a place you suggested, and that's that.

Children: If you're using a tripod, get a remote trigger, and stand away from the camera. Use a little bit of a wider lens and position the kids in the frame, then back away to talk to them and shoot spontaneously. Also, try the look away technique. Tel them to turn their heads away from the camera for a few seconds, then look back. Right when they look back, shoot. You tend to get more natural expressions that way because they won't have the time to realize what's going on and go back to habitual poses.

Communication: For the most part, people don't really know what they want, and that's just how it is. If you have the luxury of a laptop, bring it with you. Take different shots and show them the different arrangements, etc on screen. Once they start seeing the different shots, they will generally start to develop an idea of what they want and take a bit of charge.

Editing: Taking a lot of shots is always a good thing with digital. But if you're narrowing it down and are still left with 400+ shots, either you're the best photographer in the world, or your standards are not high enough. Chances are, if you really look, you will start to see tiny details that warrant being thrown out. Also, people don't want to look at a million shots of the same thing. There can only be so many different poses anyone can do before you start to run out of creative things to do. Pick a good pose, and get rid of everything else and just pick the best of that pose. People want choices, but maybe 10 at the most to pick from because if you've taken that many, chances are those 10 are the very best.

Basically, don't over-think.

[CatcherT]

yeah, that response you got was great.

my suggestion for location is I have people choose 3 outfits, I have them tell me ahead of time what their change of clothes are and that gives me ideas about where I want to shoot, but also with change of clothes its possible you can take all the shots in the same location.

as far as kids go, I don't generally have them pose, I take them at play, so thats a tough one for me, I like to make a grouping of the kid, like for instance, I had a shoot and we used a kiddie pool and a hose, she was a great subject though, if all my subjects were like her it would be so easy! but I shot her in the pool, not using alot of water she laid on her stomach, had various toys with her, I took pics of her hands holding the hose to fill more, just various things she did in the pool, her laying on her back and just the tips of her toes were sticking up out of the water, I shot that, her running and jumping in, I got the jump.

I have been known to take alot of pics, just like any other photographer, I think thats a standard at a shoot, 400 isn't unusual. I have to agree that either your an exceptional photographer or your just not looking closely at what your taking. I took 100 pics of a highschool graduate the other day, these were her outside pics in one change of clothes, out of that 100, I felt very fortunate that I really loved 10 of them, in those 10 everything was right in the pic, her hands, her eyes, head, feet, the sun, etc. but I put my pics under a microscope (not a real one with puters now) but you know what I mean, then when the subject saw the pics she agreed with me, I didn't have her look at all 100, I brought out the exceptional 10 then the next best 20 or so, there is only one way I see it, I am the artist, the subject can tell me what they want, but in the end I want to be the artist.

In the begining of shooting photography your just not going to know what you like but as you go you'll learn, then you'll learn that "wow" shot, there aren't to many of them, trust me, but then when YOU see that "wow" shot so will everyone else.

[ottojoe]

Great responses. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer, I agree with everything and this will be a huge help in my orgainizing and completing the opportunities.

Thanks again.