Talking through the process
As a photographer, it can be super tricky to feel like I can gracefully navigate a session. There are so many thoughts, variables, and unknowns, that especially when I was first starting out, it always made me extra nervous. I’m going to talk through what my creative process looks like from planning through shooting, and how I manage to incorporate my own personality and creativity.
Let me throw out a little background info for those reading…
Things you might not realize your photographer is thinking about before your session:
What are they gonna wear? How will that translate in post? Will the colors fit my editing style? What kind of mood will the outfits reflect? Will it tie into the location of where we are shooting? How should I pose them? What kind of light will give the mood I’m going for and be conducive with how I edit? How is the weather going to affect everything? Am I going to remember everyone’s name? What settings should I use? How do I change them when the light changes and if I want to try something more creative? What if the kids don’t cooperate? What if they hate their photos?
Just to name a few.
So how do you keep all of these thoughts straight while at the same time holding a conversation, while keeping things moving, while getting good photos?
I honestly think the key to all of it, is practice and open communication. It can be really intimidating when you start out, especially if you are uncertain of how you’ll be received if you try x,y,z or if you’re doing something different. The more you put yourself out there in the way you want to, in my case by taking creative risks and shooting from my heart, the more you can attract people who respect and appreciate it. In the beginning, when I knew I wanted to veer away from traditional posed portraiture and focus more on interactive creativity, I started off by including only a couple of images in a gallery that I felt were super creative/weird. I would explain to people that they might see a few images in their gallery that might not make sense to them, but I included them just because I loved them. At first, there were people who would not choose those images to make the final cut of their favorites. Now, I’m booked by people who crave that and expect images like that to be included. I still let them know, hey, you. might see some images that are blurry or grainy but yes it’s on purpose, and the general response I get now is along the lines of “I know, I love it. You do your thing.” And that’s incredibly reassuring that there are people out there who will find value in what I bring to the table when I am being sincere with how I work.
Being prepared is another thing that can help alleviate some of the uncertainties as you go into a session. It sounds like common sense, but it takes a great deal of communicating. I do send out questionnaires for newborns and births. I feel like there are so many questions, some of them more personal, so it’s easier for me to get a feel for people that way. However, I personally don’t send out style guides anymore, just because I like when my clients show up in what makes them comfortable vs. trying to appease an expectation I might have. I do try to be really clear about color choice, patterns, and often ask them to send me photos before hand so I can give honest feedback just in case. The more people in the session the more planning there is, but I just try to communicate the best I can while allowing space for them to show up exactly as they are, because that’s what my art lends to. It’s a gift to work with people who put in effort and are willing to listen to input. Being able to collaborate before hand about the “vibe” of the session they want, getting idea about where and planning the wardrobe, and feeling prepared before a session makes it to where I can show up without a bunch of unanswered questions. I can show up and focus on what I need to do, without thinking about what ifs.
One of my biggest insecurities, and one of the areas where I feel like I have to work the hardest, is posing. I find its kinda hard for me to figure out what I want to do, how to communicate it, and I always worried about if I was being creative enough. I finally feel like. I’m getting in my groove with it though, and am making strides as a director. There are a couple of things that have really helped me. The biggest is, I have stopped trying to plan poses and trying to force creativity through a pose or set up. I used to think I needed to save pinterest images or mimic what I would see other photographers doing. that just doesn’t work for me. In order for me to have a good session flow/game plan, I need to instead create a mood board relevant to each person. It still gives me inspiration and images to refer to IF i get in a moment where I feel like I need to, but instead of it being a copycat kind of thing, it’s more emotion based. It might be a board full of quotes, of colors, some relevant poses, songs, idk. anything that feels relevant to the session.
I have also found that I do best not leaning in to poses, but natural interactions. Like a dance between documentary and guided interactions with each other or with themselves. In order for this to work it goes back to communication. I try to express early on in the session what my expectations are, which is for whoever I’m working with to feel comfortable, often times ignore me, and lean in to whatever feeling or moment is happening. I don’t use prompts. I give general direction, ask them to sit or stand in ways that feel natural to them before making any tweaks. Sometimes I’ll demonstrate or talk them through different ideas. Usually I find that at the beginning of a session everyone’s nerves are up so I try to start realllllly basic (maybe walking, maybe standing together, just nothing complicated), and let everything flow from there. Within a pose, I don’t even like calling it a pose because that’s not really it, maybe within an interaction, and I just start moving. I try to talk through my thoughts as I’m having them, and if it’s a time where things are kind of quiet since I’m just focused, I express that. “Sorry I realized I got kinda quiet but you guys are doing so good I’m just taking it in and moving around you. I swear if I need you do something I’ll let you know.” Simple as that.
The tricky parts get to be when you need to make quick camera adjustments within one interaction. For example if you had your settings set a certain way, but you want to change them maybe like to use a slow shutter speed so you can get some fun movement photos. Or maybe you want to try free lensing or double exposures. It all goes back to communication, just talk it out. “Okay you guys this is great and I think I’m going to take a second to change my settings so I can try something creative, give me just a second.” And you can explain to them as much or as little as you want as to what the creative thing is. You can let them know it might not be effective, and that it’s not their fault, you just wanna try something new.
Sessions do not have to to be boom, boom, boom, seamless, effortless, everything’s smooth. It really is so much to think about! Remembering names, holding conversation while staying one step ahead of everything. You are allowed to communicate that you need a second to regroup. Sometimes when you get busy talking you can lose sight of what you were thinking creatively. Or you can shoot a million snaps and then realize when you check the back of your camera that your settings were all fucked up. That’s ok! Tell them you gotta do them again! You can feel stuck like you don’t know what to do next. You can take a minute for kids to have a temper tantrum and move on. You can also take creative risks during a session, and none of them work out. Humanize yourself.
Another thing that helps with my session flow, is letting the creative moments unfold in a way that feels authentic. I try to romanticize each moment as it happens and try to approach sessions from a cinematic viewpoint.. Changing perspectives, moving around, happy accidents, I just keep moving and thinking romantically and the inspiration seems to find me. I don’t go in thinking, “ Oh, I’m going to have the mom sit this way, and this is what I’m going to do so I get this double exposure.” My attempts at creativity are a lot more in the moment and not super premeditated. I can also feel if I think it’s going to be “successful” pretty quickly, and as soon as I feel like it’s NOT, then i drop it and move on and anticipate another moment. I also don’t try to do all the things every single session because it will just send my brain into overload.
^^ these photos above are an example of finding ways to be creative within the same interaction.
There are a million things to think about when it comes to a photoshoot. It is always easy to strike up conversations with strangers, to let your personality come out, to brainstorm, and to feel confident in remembering all of your photography skills at the same time. The more you practice, the more these things will become second nature. You can be an expert in your field, you can be incredibly capable and valued, while still needing to work on how you flow through your session. Prepare the best you can, set small goals, trust yourself, and communicate as much as you can with your client.
