Seeing When It’s Right
I do not have a God-given talent; I have a hard-earned skill as an observer of people. If I instruct someone to put their hand to their face or cross their arms, I know instantly if that is normal for the individual.
Your client will always do what you ask of them because you are the professional. However, part of being a professional is learning to recognize if a pose is right or wrong for any given person. For example, having Eddie (facing page) bring his left hand up to his chin was very natural and something I have seen him do on many occasions.
Over the years, I have learned how to watch people. I am constantly observing people during our planning sessions to get a feel as to what I might do with them once we enter the camera room. Before digital, the best time to observe people in their natural state was when I was changing rolls of film and my clients were just relaxing and being themselves.
Having the ability to see people as they really are makes the camera invisible and makes it easier to capture the best images. This is why I do not work with a camera around my neck—or even directly in front of me. I want the freedom to observe and not be tethered to a camera. Placing the camera on a tripod gives me the opportunity to walk around and look into my subjects’ eyes. Then, they do not see a camera; they only see me. Believable expressions stem from minds that are engaged; the camera has to be invisible.
With Eddie, the camera was on a stand as I walked around the room and chatted with him. This created great, natural expressions.
Additional images from the same session.
Lighting and Posing
In the image above, I have Eddie’s wife, Judy, out of the flow of light. Pulling Eddie forward and keeping the viewer’s eye connected to him added to the dynamic of the lighting. Her expression was easy to achieve. Having someone close their eyes, snuggle, or kiss always breaks down the tension—and the one doing the snuggling always breaks into a wonderful expression.