So I’ve been talking about how I feel about portraits and what I want out of them. Here’s my experiences on approaching the people so far.

The first couple of times I shot portraits, I was kind of nervous. It may sound ridiculous, but I didn’t want to appear as somebody who had no freaking idea about what I was doing (even though I know what I’m doing.. I think so anyway), so I may have been rushing things a bit more than what good is. After a handful of portraits, I really started getting relaxed about it, having no issues telling people what to do.

The approach is very different, depending on who I’m shooting a picture of. Random politicians who have already posed for a camera like a million times before, they are already relaxed about the whole thing so those are actually pretty straight forward, but at the same time the most boring pictures.

The biggest challenge is shooting portraits of citizens or people who are not used to being in the spotlight.If time permits it I usually spend at least 5-10 minutes with the subject before I raise the camera to my eye. I’m not up to speed on most of the stories I shoot the pictures for. So a perfect approach for me is to first, introduce myself, telling the individual or group of people who I am, and what paper I’m working for. Usually the subjects already know that I’ll be showing up. Anyway, a hello I’m Brian blablabla… Then I’ll ask into the story. I’m usually just slightly briefed about the story, but I want the individual’s own words and view. They tell and I’ll ask questions about details. When I feel the individual (or group) is relaxed and has dropped the shyness, I’ll turn the conversation towards the picture (which is the reason I’m there. I’m not taking notes like it’s the first time they tell the story to anybody).

By now I’ve already scanned the area for potential backgrounds or interesting areas to shoot the pictures in. I may need a minute or so to make up my mind on what I want. While scanning the area ask a few more questions if you want to know more. If you appear interested in their case or story, the’ll most likely open up a lot more, which will also be visible in the results.

Here’s a good hint for those new to this or just the shy type. Keep in mind that you’re the one in control. You tell them what to do and not the other way around. Be confident in what you’re doing and they’ll automatically be more comfortable with you. Don’t worry about stalling people from whatever they were doing. If their story is interesting enough to be brought to the public, they’ll have time for a propper picture. They are usually also interested in looking good in the photos.

I’ll shoot until I know I have something useful, then I’ll try something different.
As a last tip. If you’re meeting somebody at a place where the picture will be taken and you’re there ahead of time or they are delayed for whatever reason, it’s a good idea to spend the time setting up the camera so you don’t need to do that right before taking the pictures. If you’re using a flash, set it up so the light is correct so you don’t need to take 5-10 test shots to get the exposure correct. It’ll smooth things out a lot and everybody will benefit.