Topic: Portraits - putting the sitter at ease

[Janet_P]

I have been taking a number of portraits over the last few weeks and it has got me thinking about the best ways to put the subject at ease and arrive at a natural shot that both of us are pleased with.

In the shots I have taken at home, I have spent a couple of hours taking pictures of my subject and we have discussed the style and type of shot I will be taking - ideas coming from both of us. This has the advantage of involving the sitter and giving them back some degree of control. It's a fine line though, between being receptive to the sitters' ideas and simply taking what they want. It also helps that sometimes my agenda has not primarily been to create a portrait (but submissions for book covers instead) so the pressure is off me to produce.

The ones that flummox me are the speedy kind, where you have at most 15 minutes to get in, set up and take the shot. How do you make your sitter relax and not feel overwhelmed by the experience?

Janet

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[astrobeck]

smile a lot, it always eases tension
and look them in the eye when addressing them so they don't feel like a "subject" or just another shoot.

Compliment them on something, even if it's their choice of shoes-
It doesn't matter that their shoes might not be in the portrait, it will give them a boost of confidence in themselves and in you.

Just find some little something to break the ice.  Tell them they look wonderful and mean it.

Becky

[gothamtomato]

Conversation helps.

And if the sitter is someone who is self-conscious, it helps to have a camera that makes it look like you are not directly looking at them (like one with a waist level finder).

And also a bulb release, so they cannot really feel when you are squeezing the trigger (that was one of Yousuf Karsh's tricks).

[CarlRadford]

Conversation, genuine interest a little research into their background interest etc if not known. A little humility is always good. No different to any other time you are trying to put someone at ease! Try and be confident. Know what you are doing so you exude confidence too!

[david b]

I once had to do about a dozen different portraits in about 25 minutes - this one chap came in and was obviously really nervous about it. For some reason it occurred to me to say as he came in "oh, just leave your clothes on the back of the chair" ... broke the ice nicely, but I'd be careful about when to deploy it!

In general though - it's definitely about appearing professional at the same time as friendly.  Look like you know what you're doing, chuck in the odd little joke and a few compliments, and things usually turn out reasonably well.  I'll exclude from that the bloke last week who couldn't stop grinning like Jack Nicholson in Batman...

[Fintan]

being at ease yourself will help, be interested in them not the camera nor the photograph

i shot 5 rolls of 220 of a singer/songwriter last year and he swears he didn't see me load film

[Janet_P]

Looks like I'll be brushing up on my conversational skills 

Don Brice has a great blog entry about portraits that I have just spotted - not to mention plenty of gorgeous photos.
Definitely worth stopping by
http://dessabel.livejournal.com/