Culling and post-processing your first photo shoot - Your First Customer Series, Part 8
(Click here to visit the summary post for the Your First Customer Series!)
The hardest part is truly over.
You’ve booked your first client, gone through a well-prepared and methodically-conducted photo shoot with them, and now you’ve got a few hundred images that you need to turn into a sales presentation.
Here’s where you get to admire your work and start making notes on likes and dislikes and what-to-do’s and what-not-to-do’s for next time and what to practice before your next shoot.
Assuming you’ve backed up your images to a second or external hard drive (I’m partial to Iomega and Seagate options myself), let’s start culling the shoot down to a digestible set of your most salable images and then give them some Photoshop love.
Culling your shoot
This is going to be painful. Gird yourself.
No matter how many photos you took during your shoot, no matter how many subtle nuances captured, no matter the number of seemingly equal variations, we’ve got to cull your shoot down to the very best.
How many? The number 50 has always been a good fit for me. If you primarily push large wall prints, a smaller and more purposeful set may be appropriate. For those of us in the digital age, selling digital files, 50 gives your client a good set to choose from. You’ll hope that your client asks “How much for all of them?” or that your client will cull your set down by half to around 25 and buy that many. If they buy less, they are usually on a strict budget and weren’t going to buy more anyway.
Nothing wrong with that at all - some clients buy more, some less, and 95% of the time you’ll more than have your time well paid for. When you don't, you still gained experience and additions to your portfolio.
The best way to go about culling is to do an initial run and pick all your potential keepers. If you shot 400 images, by the time you toss all the bad expressions, half-closed zombie eyes, unflattering outtakes, and of course, utterly crap and/or out-of-focus images, you will end up with around 100 shots to concern yourself with.
Here’s where we take up the sage advice of two great thinkers of modern times, Steve Krug and Blaise Pascal:
“Get rid of half the text on your page, then get rid of half of what’s left.” - Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think
“I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” - Blaise Pascal, Lettres provinciales
The point being, of course, that your first edit should not be your last.
If you don’t cull your shoot down to the very best, you’ll get two results:
A) Your client will be overwhelmed with so many photos to choose from and you’ll just end up wasting your time and theirs trying to whittle down their selection. You will likely frustrate and exhaust them in the process; and,
B) You will include too many “meh” photos, too many fair-to-middlin’ shots, and your client will be less impressed with your work. I shoot often with a fellow sports photog, very talented, whom I have long criticized (to his face, so I can talk smack here) for posting sooooo many images online. Backs of heads, no action, bad expressions… I tell him, “John Doe, you take some really good shots, but nobody’s going to wade through your 400 mediocre images to find your 40 real keepers.”
Fifty. 50. That’s the number to aim for.
Don’t kill yourself to get there, and have confidence in your artistic impression. If you feel you’ve got 80 really good shots and variations, show’em. If you feel you only have 25, then show only those. Give yourself some credit for knowing your art.
Many photogs will tell you that 50 is a loose cull, that you should get it close to 20 to show. I’ve found with portraiture, often my clients will go gaga over images that I wouldn’t have shown if I went with a tighter cull.
There’s art I shoot for myself and there’s certainly art that I shoot just for my clients; my art creates my style, but always, you want to balance style with salability. There’s something to be said for old standbys that sell every time.
If you’re having trouble finding 25-50 good images from your shoot, don’t stress - you’re early on in your transition to being a paid part time professional photographer, so give yourself some leeway. Try to find at least 20-25 images and let the client choose what they feel is worth trading their money for. Maybe they’ll drop $20 with you - just maybe they’ll drop $200. Some clients will spend as much on one big print of one favorite image as others may spend buying 20 digital files. Never underestimate your art or your clients. Give them the power of choice and get out of their way. Let’em buy what they love.
Post-processing
During your initial run of post-processing on the images you’ll present to your client, you want to stick to the 80-20 rule: 80% of the results from 20% of the effort.
You want to make your images look as nice as possible in the smallest amount of time. You don’t know what your client might buy, but you want to make a nice presentation so they are more inclined to purchase. Here, in the endless exploration that is Photoshop or your chosen equivalent, is where you can waste as much time as any marathon Facebook or MySpace session.
Don't do it. Get in, make the proofs pop, and get out.
When I prep files for client proofing, I load them into Camera Raw in Photoshop CS4 (adjust my instructions to fit your digital darkroom of choice) and make universal adjustments to the entire shoot. I adjust white balance, brighten to taste, add a bit of contrast, bump the vibrancy, add a vignette if it's warranted, and add as much fill light as I want to pull detail from the shadows.
I then quickly go image-by-image and fine-tune those changes I made universally to best fit that image. Sometimes I’ll grab a group of images, such as a set shot in shade, a set shot indoors, etc., and edit them together before making image-by-image adjustments.
What you adjust and where you take your image artistically is your call; it’s your art to create.
What you do in camera is only half the battle; what you do in post is almost as important as nailing the shot in the first place.
You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but showing your decent-and-better images some Photoshop love (without going hog wild…ha!) will only multiply their impressiveness and salability.
Once you’ve given each image a few seconds of attention in post, go back through and pick a handful (3-5) of your very favorites to do some extra post work on and add black-and-white versions of these. Use your spot healing brush to clean up blemishes and lines, soften skin, even out skin tones, dodge and burn to make the image pop where it should, then save a color version and black-and-white copy.
These will be your marquee images that really ring with clients during your sales session. Even if a client doesn’t buy one, they will see what you’re capable of doing with their favorite picks.
I’ll go into further detail on post-processing ideas and techniques in future articles; for now, just do what you know, do your best, and make those photos look nice. Just like learning to take great portraits in camera, learning to do good post work will take time and practice. Enjoy the fact that you’re getting paid all the while!
Take notes on what to improve
Want to multiply the rate at which you improve as an artist? As I mentioned in my Your First Photo Shoot article, taking notes on what you like and don’t like from your shoot will give you some real guidelines for how to improve your work.
When you’re done culling and post processing your shoot, make another pass through the images with notepad (physical or digital) in hand and write down another set of notes:
- What are your favorite images from the shoot? Why? Go into detail, explore your own artistic vision and preferences. Be verbose. You want to identify what to repeat next time.
- What are your least favorite images? Why? Be detailed here also. Is it the background? Lighting? Expression? Pose? Moment? Weather? Angle? Aperture?
- With this in mind, what are you going to do on your next shoot to create more favorites and fewer least favorites?
- What images do you think your client will love and buy? Do they differ from your own favorites as the photographer? Why? How can you balance the two styles? Step outside your own biased perspective and look at the images as a parent, senior, or bride.
- What resources (books, magazines, web sites, tutorials, forums, practice) can you draw on between now and your next shoot to better your best shots and bring your worst up from the trash bin? Try to identify at least one area of your art to better your knowledge in before your next shoot. Define a path to improve your photography.
- What will you do on your next shoot to create a better experience and better set of images for your client? This is a repeat from the last article, but worth doing again to both reinforce and introduce new ideas gained after post-processing.
In Part 9 of what is turning out to be a 10-part series, I’ll walk you through your first proofing and sales session. You’ll learn how to sell ethically and easily, letting your art and business policies do the hard work for you.
Next Steps
- If you’ve ever done a single photo shoot with anyone, for money or fun, go back over your images from that shoot and answer the note-taking questions posed above. As with your shoot, slow down and really evaluate. It doesn’t matter if you’ve done one or a thousand shoots; slow down and give yourself the opportunity to be conscious of your art and explore how you can make it better.
- Brainstorm session: If you could improve any three things about your art, what would they be? What resources can you find online or in your town that would help? File this in your Brainstorms folder.
- Once this series is complete, I can up the pace of my posting and expound on many of the ideas I’ve touched on throughout. I plan to leave no nuance unnoticed in my effort to help you make the smooth and exciting transition from amateur photographer to paid professional. If you like what you’re reading here, feel free to click the free "Subscribe" link at the top of any page of this web site.
- What’s one of the best post-processing tips or methods you’ve learned to improve your images after a shoot? Leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail.
Your first photo shoot: expectations and results - Your First Customer Series, Part 7
(Click here to visit the summary post for the Your First Customer Series!)
Ooh baby, it’s showtime.
(Speaking of showtime, here’s tip #1 for starting your first photo shoot right: show up on time. And on time means at least 10-15 minutes early. Guaranteed: if you don't, your client will.)
You’ve booked your first client, gone over your personalized pre-shoot checklist, and just parked at the location you chose for your first official photo shoot. Grab the paper bag, don’t hyperventilate, and get ready for a terrifyingly exciting ride. Here’s where you get to shine - here’s where you create art that your client can’t live without buying.
Okay, assuming this really is your first rodeo, a more reasonable goal may be to just walk away an hour later with images that are in focus and salvageable in Photoshop.
Just like anyone who has ever tried their hand at “something new,” your first time isn’t going to be your best. I don’t believe so much in aiming for the stars and landing in the heavens as I believe in mindful preparation and doing your best. It's all that can be asked.
You can knock it out of the park later on; for now, let’s just worry about getting around the bases, one at a time.
Slow down
On your first shoot, you’re going to deal with a heap of emotions and self-induced pressure:
- You don’t want to come off as a clueless amateur.
- You don’t want to give a bad impression and be talked poorly of.
- You don’t want your client telling all their friends how horrible a photographer you are and ending your career before it starts.
- You don’t want to throw up on your client.
- You don’t want to pass out.
- You don’t want to forget every single thing you’ve learned about portrait photography and end up with nothing but out-of-focus photos of people’s faces, contorted in disgust and venomous rage over your session being a complete waste of their time.
It ain’t pretty, but it’s true; you will probably be struck with the fear of any one of these escalating nightmares coming true. The good news is, they are nothing but fears; reality, I can tell you from experience, is far, far kinder than your own imagination.
More good news is, the first thing to do on your shoot is slow down.
(Repeat for effect: s l o o o w d o o o w n.)
The quickest way you will screw up your entire photo shoot is if you get nervous, worry too much about impressing the client, and melt into a lightheaded rush.
When you show up (early!) for your shoot, sit in your car and relax to some good tunes. Close your eyes. Take some deep breaths. Strike up the ol’ affirmations if you want: “I see myself taking my time, smiling and enjoying shooting with my client, and making the best photos I can for them.”
Deep breath.
Repeat.
Now that you’ve got your head on straight, step out of your car and don’t touch your gear. Close the car door.
Stretch. Breathe.
Look around. Smile and thank the stars you’re here today living the dream.
Start assessing the location you’ll be shooting at. Walk through the shoot in your head. Where’s an easy place to start out? Look for a comfortable place for you and your client, quiet preferably, with easy lighting and backgrounds, to test equipment and play get-to-know-you. If you did a dry run at the location during your pre-shoot checklist, just walk through your vision for the shoot one more time as a refresher.
Once you’ve surveyed the area and have your first few spots picked out to shoot at, pull your gear out and quickly test everything. Make sure your gear is where you want it and your camera settings are where you want them to be.
Feel free to walk over to your first setup (we’ll call good shooting spots ‘setups’), snap a few shots, and evaluate for exposure and background. Get things set to where you like them in your camera so when your client arrives, you won’t be fiddling too much with gear as you lead them into their first shots.
Client arrival & encouragement
When your client arrives at the location, do all the charming things your mother taught you. Greet warmly, firm handshake, smile, chat nicely, ask questions, laugh. Have some fun. Be serious about making the best images you can, but you’re not foreclosing on someone’s childhood home, you’re taking pretty pictures; allow some levity into the atmosphere.
One of the most important things you'll do with any client is make them feel comfortable and confident. A photo shoot is as much about the experience as the resultant images; from the start, show your client a good time and give them consistent encouragement.
“Hey, we’ve got some beautiful weather today and you look great; we’re going to have an awesome photo shoot.”
“I really like the outfit you picked out, it looks great on you and it’s going to look really good with this scenery.”
“Wow, we’re getting some great photos here; the background is great and you’re really photogenic. I am very happy with these shots.”
To quote my choir teacher from high school, it doesn’t take a mental giant to do this.
Don’t be smitten, don’t be inappropriate with compliments, and sure as hell don’t be insincere. Look at your client with honest and thoughtful eyes and see the best about them to talk about. Maybe their glasses are stylish. Maybe their hair looks great. Maybe they look like a train wreck, so compliment their distinctive style.
Just a few words of encouragement sprinkled throughout a photo shoot can relax your client, who is almost guaranteed to be more nervous and uncomfortable than you are. Give them some confidence, their guard will go down, and you can really connect and make some images that show their best.
Chat with your client as much as you like before your shoot; let them know you’ve got some ideas for great pictures, but you want to know if they’re looking for anything specific or Artist’s Choice. Nine times out of 10, they just want you to do what you do best, but it’s good to ask. Help your client feel empowered as well as encouraged - if they don’t want the power, then make them feel they are in good hands. Some gentility and a good attitude will take you far in your art and business.
Once you’ve got a rapport going, it’s time to step up to the plate. Lead them to your first setup and get to work - showtime.
Your first shots
Your first shots - in fact, most of the shots you’ll take - will be test shots.
Get your client in place at your first setup, let them know they can relax while you do some shots to “test the lighting,” and do just that - snap a few and see what you get.
Here’s where we slow down - here’s where we guarantee the best possible images from your first photo shoot.
What you’re going to do is snap a few shots, then pause to look at them on your camera. You’re going to evaluate every set of images you make, and then make adjustments to get better and better photos.
- Look at your exposure: Too bright? Too dark? Just right? Remember, expose for your subject, not the background; don’t silhouette your subject with a perfectly-exposed sky behind them, and don’t blow out the human in the photo to get a nice exposure on the dark tree behind them. Try to shoot from an angle that gives you a background as even as possible with the light on your subject. When you can’t, don’t sweat: just remember, expose for the subject, not the background.
- Look at your settings: How’s your shutter speed? F-stop? If your shutter is too slow, you’re going to get blurry photos from camera shake or subject movement. If your F-stop is too low / wide, you’ll only have inches of depth-of-field to work with and you’ll likely end up with the best part of your subject, their eyes, out of focus. Raise your ISO if you need to give yourself a boost on either of these other settings.
- Look at your background: What’s going on behind your subject? Is it a clean, complimentary background? Are there people, cars, signposts, trash cans, or other distractions? Are there any trees, flagpoles, or telephone poles growing out of their heads? Adjust your angle up, down, or sideways to clean up your background.
- Look at your subject: Books have been written on how best to photograph the human face. For your first shoot, we'll take aim at just a few biggies: shadows, expression, pose. This is where you’ll work your magic with a client to capture their best in your photos. Let’s give this one it’s own subhead...
Look at your subject
Here’s where so many photographers new to portraiture get discouraged and lose confidence. What you observe and adjust about your client’s face to get the best possible image will separate you from the wannabe’s.
Shadows: Unless you’re going for an artsy look, you want nice, soft, even lighting across your subject’s face. You want both eyes to catch some light and have life in them. You want light to come from roughly 45 degrees above and behind you, off to either side up to 45 degrees if you like.
This is why midday portraits are so challenging: your subject is lit from directly above, hiding the eyes and casting unflattering shadows.
Adjust your client’s body and face left, right, up, down, spin them around if you have to, to get pleasant light on their face. Remember that the camera will magnify the depth of shadows, so as with every setup you do, take some test shots and evaluate.
Harsh lighting is the most common challenge you’ll face shooting outdoors. If your client faces the sun, they’ll squint and tear up; if they turn sideways to the sun, half their face disappears; if they turn 180 degrees to the sun, their hair will blow out; if you put them fully in the shade, your background will probably be overexposed.
This is something you’ll have to learn to overcome with experience and practice. Be mindful of it as you shoot, keeping an eye on your subject’s face and the background behind them.
Above all else, no matter what other factors involve themselves, you want to properly expose your subject’s face and capture the best expression you can. In the sales session, your client will care far more about your getting a great photo of them than a perfect exposure on the background behind them.
Expression: Here’s where it pays off when you encourage your client and instill in them some confidence in front of your camera.
Getting an honest, personal, individual, telling expression out of a client is an art in itself; certainly worth of its own article in the future. There is so much nuance and psychology and personality involved in drawing out the best expression from a client.
Putting your client in the wildly unnatural position of being photographed, recorded, vulnerable in front of the camera, and then getting perfectly natural photos of them in that situation, is an area you will learn to master as you grow as a professional photographer.
Use your charm and social judgment to get natural expressions from your client. Get them to laugh. Get them to make goofy faces at you. Get them to look angry. Then happy. Then super-happy. Then angry again. This role playing will almost always draw a laugh or smirk out of them. Help them loosen up and be themselves and you’ll capture the best of them.
Pose: Posing is another factor in getting the best images of your client. This is also a subject about which many books have been published. In fact, go buy one or two right now. The illustrations and advice will give you far more knowledge and confidence than I can instill with mere words here.
In brief, you want to pose your client in a natural way that best compliments their unique body characteristics. In many ways, you want your posing to reduce or eliminate so-called “flaws.”
Double chins, big foreheads, big ears, big noses, lazy eyes, flabby arms, muffin-tops… You’ve got your work cut out for you, my friend.
But fear not! Honestly, most clients are reasonable human beings and know exactly what they look like, “flaws” and all. Play up their best features and reduce what they don’t like so much. As in all things, do your best; you’ll do fine.
Seriously though, invest some money in a good posing book or some time on a good web site that teaches posing. Even if you throw out all the canned “tried and true traditional” poses, what you learn about using poses and lighting to best compliment different faces and body types will pay dividends in every portrait you shoot.
Everyone is beautiful in their unique way, about this I have no question. It is a joy to me as a photographer to get to know and understand a client, to connect with them, and to best capture what makes them a beautiful person in this world. Sometimes it’s a laugh, a smile, a raised eyebrow, a stoic presence, a spiritual vibe, a loving aura…beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Step up - here’s where you earn your supper.
Pacing the shoot
Remember, you’re in control of your shoot. But for random acts of God, you’re given the reigns when it comes to pacing your shoot.
And I’ll say again: slow down.
You’re in a photo shoot. There’s no rush, there’s nowhere to be, there’s no finish line to cross. You’ll probably be shooting for around an hour or so, which is plenty of time to get a wide variety of great images with your client in a variety of setups.
Be methodical: set up, pose, shoot a few testers, evaluate, adjust, test, evaluate, adjust, test, shoot for real and work on capturing the best expressions and moments you can.
Getting the best possible shots during a shoot is a lot like solving a puzzle. Pace yourself and enjoy the experience just like you would while doing a good crossword puzzle, playing Jenga, or getting in a game of The Sims.
The very fact that you’re reading this article right now means you are miles ahead of most people, in artistic investment and business acumen. Take pride: even if you haven’t shot your first client yet, the education you are providing yourself through this blog and other sites and sources is putting you head and shoulders above most people to have ever touched a camera. You care. You're trying. And that's worth a lot.
As you proceed from setup to setup, work over your subject from different angles and distances at each spot. If you’re shooting them at a park bench, get a nice close headshot, then a layback shot on the bench, then some wide shots of them sitting on the bench, then doing a handstand on the bench - or whatever you want.
Nail your must-have shots, your bread-and-butter images that you know will sell well after the shoot, then experiment. Play around with ideas and just let your creativity flow. Once you feel you’ve worked over a setup for all the shots it has to give, move on to the next setup.
Repeat until your time is up.
Don’t be afraid to shoot the same shot at different times and setups throughout your shoot. Give yourself plenty of variety to choose from during post-processing. Keep shooting, testing, evaluating, adjusting, and shooting some more. Trust me; the headshot you get of your client toward the end of your shoot will probably be far more natural and pleasant than the first of the day.
Calling it a day
When time is up on your shoot, again turn on that charm your mother taught you and send your client off with more encouragement.
“This was a really great photo shoot, thank you so much for the opportunity. I really enjoyed it and I think we made some great photos today.”
“I’m really happy with how everything went today. The weather was right and you were really working the camera. We’re going to have some great photos to look at.”
“I think we got some photos today that you guys will really like. This is a great place for a photo shoot and we caught some great evening light.”
Lead your client back to your car and explain to them the remainder of the photo buying process:
- Show them your standard model release, explain what it means and what it’s for (“This just gives me your permission to use your photos in my portfolio or in an ad for my [senior, bridal, family, baby, whatever] photography business.”), and have them fill it out, including contact information and e-mail address.
- Ask if they enjoyed the photo shoot. Then ask if you may add their e-mail address to your newsletter list. If you offer a coupon for new subscribers, let them know what they’ll get and how they can use it during the coming proofing and sales session.
- Let them know you shot a ton of photos, but you’ll cull them down to the best from each pose and setup, looking for the best expressions and moments. If you recall a specific shot from the shoot that you know is good, mention it as an example. (“I loved the shot of you laying back on the park bench, the light was just right on your face; that will definitely be in there.”)
- Set a date, time, and location for your client to get with you to view the proofs and buy their prints and files. If they want the images in a private online album, collect your retainer for this service and let them know when they can expect an e-mail from you with a link to the images.
- Ask if they have any other questions, thank them for a great shoot, and then release them back into the sea.
Congratulations - you’ve survived your first photo shoot! Hopefully with grace and aplomb, but if not, no worries. So long as you were courteous, encouraging, had some fun, and made some solid images, you’ve had a pretty fantastic first shoot.
If you threw up on the client and all your shots were out of focus…well, everybody has to start somewhere!
:D
Taking notes on what to improve
Do you want to multiply the rate at which you improve as a photographer? Whip out a pad and pencil (or digital equivalent) as soon as your client leaves and get ready to jot some notes.
It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and flow of a shoot, then the euphoria of its end, without ever really slowing down to take stock of what went right and what went wrong.
The secret is to be conscious of your work.
Just like slowing down to evaluate each set of images you make during the shoot, you want to take a moment after to take note of your thoughts on how to improve for next time.
Pencil, stylus, keyboard, or touchscreen in hand, answer these questions:
- What was your favorite part of the shoot? Go into detail. Was it nailing a certain shot? Joking with the client? Getting to know the client and making better images for it? You tell me.
- What was the worst part of the shoot? Nerves before? Mind-melt during? Did the client have no sense of humor? Did you have no sense of humor? Details.
- What do you think your client's favorite and worst parts of the shoot were? Do these differ from yours? Try to step into their shoes as self-conscious and inexperienced subjects and explore what you feel they most and least enjoyed.
- This knowledge in hand, what can you do differently or better next time to improve your client's experience?
- Briefly looking at your images on camera, what do you like and dislike from the shoot? Best? Worst? Why? Where did you ace it, and where did you miss? How can you do better next time? Be specific; give yourself something real to grab onto and improve.
Head home, plug your card into your computer, back up your images, then back’em up again to a second or external hard drive.
In the coming final articles of this series, I’ll go over culling+post-processing, the proofing+sales session, and how to follow-up like a rock star.
Next Steps
- Take another pass through the Flickr archives to see what kinds of portraits other photographers are making in the great outdoors.
- Like a good actress or actor, grab a mirror, and talk out some of your photographer-client shpeel. Have a mock conversation with a client, from introductions on location to posing and joking around to fond farewells. Have fun. Be silly. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Life is good.
- Brainstorm session: What’s the worst thing that could happen on your photo shoot? What’s the most realistic worst thing that could happen? How can you prepare for it? File this in your Brainstorms folder.
- What was your first photo shoot like? What were the biggest lessons you learned? Leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail.
Top 10 money-making outdoor photos of people - Your First Customer Series, Part 2
(Click here to visit the summary post for the Your First Customer Series!)
It may take some practice on yourself or friends and family, but below you will find the top 10 money-making outdoor photographs you can make of and sell to your portraiture clients as a newly-minted part time photographer.
I'm featuring outdoor portraits here because you can shoot them with just the camera in your hands, and you can shoot them just about anywhere, from a local park or playground to your own back yard.
Aim to start shooting about one hour before sunset. This will give you nice evening light to play with.
For your lighting, you want your subject facing toward the sun. If the sunlight is right in their eyes and they're squinting, move them into some shade but still have them face toward the sun. If you're lucky, you'll get a passing cloud in front of the sun or have overcast skies to act as a big diffuser.
I'll be adding some more in-depth video and photo tutorials for these photos in the future, but for now, use the below guidelines to begin shooting salable portraits of your clients.
Let's visit the great outdoors!
The Headshot
A good headshot fills the frame with your subject's face, preferably from mid-chest or shoulders up. Zoom your camera in all the way and walk away from your subject until they are properly framed. By zooming in, you're reducing your depth of field, which will give you a nice, soft background.
The biggest part of the headshot is a natural expression (preferably a candid smile or laugh between funny faces) and good lighting. If your lighting is too harsh or too far to the side, you'll get nasty and unflattering shadows across the eyes and face. Make sure the eyes always look fabulous.
Don't have to worry about background too much with these, since almost all of the frame will be filled with the subject. As always, try to have a complimentary and simple background. Avoid busy or clashing backgrounds at all costs.
Mix this up with a nice pair of sunglasses and you can get another set of fun and stylish photos. Once you've got what you like from a standing-back, zoomed-in position, zoom all the way out, get close, and do some wide-angle headshots. Make sure your background is clean and complimentary, lift your camera overhead and shoot down at wild angles, and have fun with it.
The 3/4 (Three-Quarters) Shot
The 3/4 Shot goes up from your subject's thighs, waist, or torso, including arms and hands. We'll introduce a bit of body posing with this portrait.
Make sure your lighting looks good on your subject (I'll say this every single time - learn to look at the light and shadows on your subject's face before you even lift your camera to take a shot), then have them "just slightly" push their shoulders back and arch their backs. If they suddenly look like they sat on a cactus, have them loosen it up a bit.
Where your subject's hands will go depends on what they're wearing. Thumbs can go in jean pockets for a Western look, arms can cross for a powerful stance, hands can go to hips (with a little hip swish to the side) for a more model-esque pose, hands can go in jacket pockets if they're wearing one, etc.
Look for something natural and fitting: unless you're breaking the ice and being funny, cowboys shouldn't swish their hips and khaki-wearers shouldn't hook their thumbs in their pockets.
Women going for a model look can do the hip thing, put hands in their back pockets, bring their hands up to mess with their hair, etc. You can turn most women loose with posing in a 3/4 shot and they'll do fine on their own.
Your background is going to be more visible in this shot, so make sure it doesn't hurt the image. If it's loud, noisy, overbearing, super busy, or just not complimentary to the photo, change positions. Have your subject lean against a tree if you must, but maintain a clean background.
This photo set should also be shot from a distance, zoomed in. Feel free to introduce some sunglasses and/or wide angle shots if you like, but since we're shooting more body this time, the final impact will be less pronounced.
The Close-up Shot
Not for the faint of heart or those with particularly poor skin.
The close up shot is a twice-as-close headshot, focusing greatly on the eyes, filling almost every inch of the frame with your subject's face.
Definitely step back and zoom in to take this photo. Wide-angles up close will exaggerate features well beyond attractiveness. That said, if you have a funky subject, go for it - never let your own snobbery of how a portrait should look take precedence over what the client wants and will buy.
When you're this close, make sure you aren't casting a shadow (even faint) on your subject.
When you like the lighting on your subject's face, let them give you several expressions, and play to their best features. If someone has bad teeth, aim for closed-mouth smiles and dramatic or intense facial expressions. If they have a great smile, start cracking jokes. If they have amazing eyes, get super close on those. If they have great hair, or if their hair is a big part of their style, be sure it frames or comes forward a bit to accent their face.
Since a close-up is more of an artsy and intimate image, play around with having your client look away from the camera, pose their head to the left or right and have them look both toward you and away, and if they're the jocular type, have them make some funny faces.
Good close-ups make great MySpace and Facebook defaults.
The Layback Shot
Find something for your subject to lay back on. I'm lucky to have a great spot on a tree at my city park where my subjects can lay back comfortably, but you can use a flat surface like a patch of grass or a park bench.
You'll have your subject lay down, and turn/lean their head back to look at you. As always, make sure your lighting looks good, and if their faces aren't catching even light, rotate them until they look great.
Have your subject arch their back a bit to make it easier for them to look back to you. Take your time and get a natural pose here - if your subject is straining their neck too much or too twisted around, their discomfort will show up in the final photo.
Hands can go down the side into/around pockets, their far hand can go up behind their head, and the near hand can stay down, go in a jacket pocket, or reach up to grip a lapel.
This mostly looks good as a dramatic photo, but as with every photo, try to work a range of expressions in. Go crazy and cull out the misses later when you're on the computer.
The Bench Shot
A good park bench is a great prop for posing. Your subject can sit, stand, or lay on it, and any which way, it creates visually interesting horizontal lines in the image.
Work your angles and expressions, primarily focusing on straight-on shots capturing the long side of the table or bench. Overhead shots can be good here as well to create some angled lines through your image.
The Standing On Something Shot
I may not be creative with naming these shots, but this is one of the more dramatic photos you'll take of your subject.
Find something that your subject can stand on, preferably a something that creates a statuesque appearance. A chair, a rock or cement wall, a pillar of some sort, a table, a tree stump, whatever's available.
Go for dramatic and goofy poses and expressions here. Try to get your camera down around your subject's foot level and shoot up at them. Primarily do this zoomed in, but try some wide angles as well. Dramatic poses should give your subject the appearance of a statue on display, and goofy stuff can include flamingo one-legged stances and bird-in-flight pantomimes.
The Wide Shot
You'll have to do some hunting and practice your landscape photographer's eye to find a good place, but seek out some good scenery to do a landscape-style photo with your subject as a small but highlighted feature in the shot.
A tree that overhangs a hillside, a select tree out of a row of a dozen, a lone tree in a field (can you tell I shoot around trees a lot?), a hillside or field covered in green grass or flowers... You get the idea. Get in a position where you can shoot a wide-angle photo of this beautiful landscape or natural feature, and pose your subject in a key point.
If photographing the overhanging tree, place your subject in the frame created by the branches which dip down at their tips. If shooting the lone tree, seat your subject at the side of the tree, or stand them in front of it. If you can shoot from a high position, lay your subject in that field of flowers and let them be the unique break, and thus focal point, in the pattern the landscape creates.
Your subject will be very small in this photo, so pose them dramatically enough that they don't appear as just sticks or squares in the photo. Extend the pose enough to create more interesting shapes. Make them take up some space around them.
The Funky Angle Shot
Go wide-angle and shoot from an unusual angle on your subject. I love to shoot overhead for these, but you can lay down and shoot from ground level, or just get close and twist the camera so your subject takes up the frame corner-to-corner instead of top-to-bottom.
This is a playful type of shot, so feel free to play around with your subject to get a memorable image.
The Down The Road Shot
Roads, not unlike the done-to-death train track, create nice lines in an image.
Place your subject in the middle of a road (do mind the traffic), or off to one side or the other, and look for a shot which includes the bold graphic element of the road and the lines on the road. Have your subject take a bold stance if in the middle of the road, or have them turn toward the road if they're posed to the side. If to the side, place your subject in the left or right side of the frame, with the road filling the rest.
After you nail your straight-on shots, do some funky angle shots and do some overheads. The bold lines that roads create will, if captured properly, give your portrait a big boost in style.
The Jump Shot
Ahh, The Jump Shot - a must for nearly every subject I photograph, in the studio or outdoors. Seniors, brides, children...none are exempt from the coolness of this photo.
Find a place where you can get below your subject's feet; the crest of a hill, a low wall, whatever works for you.
Lay down. Get extra low for this shot. The lower you are, the higher it will appear your subject jumps, even if they are notably sans "ups."
Get some space between you and your subject, but stay close enough that you can shoot zoomed out for a nice wide-angle effect.
For the jump, tell your subject to get as high as they can on the jump, and have them go all-out cheerleader. Guys and gals both should throw their hands up and kick their heels back. Big laughs and wide-mouthed smiles look great here.
Snap your photo at the apex of their jump. If you're shooting with a point-and-shoot, you'll have to play with your timing to make this happen. Pre-focus on your subject to reduce the delay.
Watch the background in this one - your subject should have nothing buy sky behind them. If there are trees or buildings disturbing your subject's blue-sky background, the flying effect won't be as strong.
This is always a fun photo to make and show to clients, and one that often sells as a big print.
Bonus: The Prop Shot
I have a couple of bonus shots for you, separate from the rest because they involved props.
The appropriately-named Prop Shot involves the inclusion of just about anything that your subject will pose with - a pet, sports gear, hobby gear (such as a camera!), etc.
Whatever the prop is, your first priority is to show your subject interacting with the prop, and your second is to have the subject interact with the camera at the same time.
If your subject wants to pose with their dog, they're holding the dog in their arms and the pup starts licking their faces, great photos will be had. If you can catch your subject laughing and looking at the camera while this is going on, it will make an even better photo.
If your subject wants a shot of them swinging on a swing, get a nice low angle down and to the side of them so you can catch them at the top of their forward swing; if you can get them to look back/down at you while laughing or smiling, even better.
Interacting with the camera, in any case, is secondary to them interacting naturally with their prop of choice. If you're doing a profile shot of a subject kissing their pet potbelly pig, the mid-laugh smoochy shot is going to be far and away better than then snuggling and smiling at the camera shot. Make them both, but know which one will sell more prints.
Bonus: The Car Shot
A car is really just a big prop, but because of its size and usually very personal relationship with its driver, it gets special mention here.
A car says a lot about its owner. A beat up old truck can lend as much character to a portrait as a slicked-up Porsche can add style to another.
Get photos of your subject in the driver's seat, leaning against the car James Dean style, sitting on the hood or tailgate, do a Layback Shot on the hood, ask for stories about the driver's experience with the car and then try to recreate that experience. If they rebuilt the engine, get photos of them under the hood poking around, or slid underneath the car with just their legs sticking out. Find the connection between the driver and the car and make some fun and memorable photos which capture that connection.
Practice makes perfect
Phew! That's 2,443 words of ideas to get you kick-started taking money-making photographs of your portraiture clients. Start practicing what you've learned above and build your own set of favorite money-making photos so you never have to "make it up as you go along" unless you want to.
Keep in mind, this is by no means an in-depth or exhaustive list; as you grow as an artist, and expand your repertoire of favorite images to make of clients, you'll start to enter a flow state when you're shooting and go naturally and easily from one pose and place to the next.
In the near future you'll find here on PartTimePhoto.com some fun and dead-simple video and photo tutorials to help you more visually learn to make the most of these photo opportunities.
Next Steps
- Take a drive around your town or neighborhood and explore the outdoor areas which would be ripe for good photos. Look for parks and playgrounds especially. Walk around your own back yard and see what little nooks would be great to take portraits in.
- Grab a friend or family member and practice, practice, practice. Print out or download this list to your iPhone and setup by setup, practice each photo, and practice getting good expressions from your subjects. Remember, you're a working photographer now - let your guinea pig subject know that they can get with you to view the photos at a later date and buy what they love.
- Have fun practicing and have fun on your shoots. You will make far better photos, and your subjects will enjoy the experience a great deal more. Remember, your art will take time to grow, but your ability to provide clients with a fantastic experience lies in your hands right now.
- Hold a practice viewing session with your guinea pig subject and look at your take together. See which images get the best reaction from them. See if they're interested in buying any of them. Take note of what really floats their boat, and keep this in mind for your upcoming brainstorm session - these are the photos that you want to lean toward making with future clients.
- Check out the work of Flickr artists from their outdoor portraiture sessions.
- Brainstorm session: Write down your thoughts on which photo setups gave you your best images, both artistically to you and financially to your subject. Those photos that they were really happy with are what you'll want to be sure you shoot every time with your clients. File this in your Brainstorms folder.
- If you're interested in maximizing your financial and enjoyment benefit from your part time photography business, feel free to click the "Subscribe" link at the top of any page of this web site. I'm very thankful for your readership!
- How would you classify some of your favorite outdoor portraits? Do they fit in any of the above categories? If not, how would you classify them? What have you learned is your best-seller image? Leave a comment below or drop me an e-mail.
It's digital: go crazy! How to make great photos by accident
(Putting some thorough time in on Part 2 of the Your First Customer Series, so here's some fresh reading while I'm dabbling in that project.)
There are two camps of professional photographers out there: the selective and thoroughly-planned, and the spray-and-prays.
I lean more toward the latter, although I'll say that with time and experience, you can begin to combine the two styles effectively.
Whereas some portrait photographers like to set up and plan and micromanage every shot down to the last detail, I have enough ADHD in me to necessitate going hog wild while I'm shooting.
I'll get my client into a general pose, or give them some posing instructions and turn them loose, then start shooting - as I see things I like, I'll have them repeat them.
For example, if I'm shooting a senior outdoors I may have them lay back on tree or picnic table, have them arch their backs and turn their faces to me. I'll start shooting, then ask for different expressions, different hand placement, etc. As they morph the pose to their own inspiration, I'll grasp onto what they're doing right in my eyes and encourage them to do more of it.
I tend to shoot 400 or more photos in a one-hour session, whether in the studio or out in the wild.
Grognards will tell you that shooting so many images is "amateur," but I don't think any method is amateur that results in photos your client loves and is willing to pay good money for. If you're more meticulous, do more planning and setup; if you're like me and love variety and faster rhythms, spray away.
Experiments make money
A sidebar to this concept of shooting like crazy to make great photos would be to experiment like a mad scientist.
Photography is definitely one of those artistic talents that benefits from experimentation, to 'learn by doing.'
One of the best things about "not knowing any better," in photography and in life, is that you can experiment freely. Want to shoot portraits at night by street light? Do it. Get a whim to do a family portrait with everyone upside down hanging from swings? Do it. Inspired to play with backlighting, unusual or wild posing, high fashion set and scene creation, want to go with a commercial feel, feel like putting everyone in sunglasses, can't go another day without doing an entire shoot with a Star Wars theme, just have to shoot an entire senior session in the subject's home? Do it.
It's digital: go crazy!
Especially when you are early-on in your professional photography career, experiment and blow the doors off your self-imposed boundaries. If a photo stinks, throw it out without a second thought or if you like the idea, ponder (or ask advice on the forums) how you can do it better.
When you find something you love, and more importantly, your client loves it too, write it down and add it to your shot list - your list of must-shoots for every client.
Don't sacrifice your basics, your 'guaranteed' salable photos, but definitely take time to experiment and play with fresh ideas and your own imagination while working with clients.
You'll find that your artistic talents grow much faster, and you'll create some truly unique and remarkable photos along the way. Those stylish images, along with a proven capacity for knocking down solid, quality portraits, will get you word of mouth, a healthy buzz, in your market.
A digital caveat
The only flipside to the spray-and-pray style of shooting is that you will wear out your camera faster than usual.
I experienced this with my Canon 40D, 20D, and original silver Digital Rebel. I've had to replace the shutter on each at $250 a pop. Each time the old salt behind the counter tells me, "You take too many pictures! Just because it's digital doesn't mean you can take so many pictures!"
His advice is well-taken, and as years go by, I've become better and better at being more selective in my shooting.
However, my style, my salable photos, are my bread and butter as a professional photographer. I have made back what I've spent in shutter replacements many, many times over.
Go with the flow and make your photos your way. Do what feels right to you, what you've learned gives you the best images you can make.
Next Steps
- Experiment! On every single photo shoot, try something new or different or downright crazy. As always, check out the inspirational work of Flickr artists to keep your brain buzzing.
- Brainstorm session: Close your eyes. Let your imagination explore visions and ideas for unique and interesting portraits of people. Write down every vision that comes to mind, every important detail, and who/what/where/when/how you would photograph each. File this in your Brainstorms folder.
- There's only more real-world advice, tips, and encouragement to come here on PartTimePhoto.com. If you enjoy what you're reading, please feel free to click the "Subscribe" link at the top of any page of this web site.
- What preconceived notions or fears do you feel are holding you back from making fun, fantastic photos? Leave a comment below, e-mail me, or call or text me at 830-688-1564.