Photographer for people who hate being photographed
/One of the most common things I hear is “Just to let you know I hate having my photograph taken and I always look terrible in photos.”
This post covers what I tell people to help them realise that I’m a good photographer for people who hate being photographed…
My initial response is usually to joke with a smile and a nod “Yep, I’m about as popular as a dentist, at first!
About 80% of my clients say they don’t like cameras so it’s no problem. Hopefully when you look through my portfolio you like more than 20% of my photographs!
Here’s what I DON’T do!
The reason you don’t like having your photograph taken is that your experience of being photographed is to be told to look at the camera and smile on demand, or say cheese. If I do that to you then you have my permission to slap me!
Posing without posing
There are two big things you’re concerned about……At one extreme you’re worried about being overly posed and feeling stiff.…At the other extreme you don’t know what you’ll do if the photograph just tells you to ‘stand over there and play / talk / act naturally’. Either way, that puts too much pressure on you to ‘perform’.
My approach is to give you some guidance but then distract you from the camera, which brings me onto my next point…
Misdirection - questions are the answer
It’s my job to make you feel relaxed and forget the camera is there… one trick is to use misdirection like a magician…
For example, I ask lots of questions when I’m photographing. Questions that are specially designed to get a reaction. I then take the photographs while you’re answering or reacting or interacting in response to the question.
For example, I might ask “What do you love most about mummy / your new bride / your brother etc. Questions like that are guaranteed to get some kind of reaction.
Family play-date
With family photography I act the fool for the children. I’ve done everything from fetching sticks in my mouth like a dog, to rolling in mud and sitting in puddles; all for the children’s amusement. The more the children feel like it’s a family play-day the more they’ll enjoy it and the better photographs we’ll get. And you’ll feel more comfortable too as you won’t feel like the spotlight is completely on you.
Keeping my distance
Admittedly for some photographs I’ll be close - particularly for the intimate and action shots at weddings. But there are also many times I’ll be 20 feet away with my long lens while you’re interacting, playing, walking and talking. I’ll never leave you wondering what to do and I won’t ask you to do anything that feels unnatural.
Prior preparation prevents piss poor performance!
My old photography mentor always used to tell me this. I don’t just rock up with a camera and start photographing you without knowing anything about you and what you want. I’d have a planning meeting with you (either in person or over Skype / FaceTime) so I can ask you questions and find out what you want, what you don’t want and get to know you better. This will definitely help build your confidence and realise that a photoshoot is actually a fun experience when it’s with someone you feel comfortable with.
If I sound like the kind of photographer you’d like to work with then please call on 0792 358 3658 or email dan@danwaterscreative.com to find out more.
