Their True Personality
The facing-page photograph represents this family’s personalities—they enjoy doing things together, having fun, and being silly. They even used this image on their holiday cards because this is really who they are.
Point Them in the Right Direction
With this family, I just had to point the camera at them and begin photographing when we entered the camera room. They knew what they wanted to do. I could get them positioned and point them in the right direction, but then they’d say, “Let’s do this!” or, “Let’s do that!” During sessions like these, I just have to go with it and have fun along with them. We make a lot of silly, goofy photographs as well as the more serious ones. They always give me a great mixture and range of emotions.
“A photograph like this has to be done with a family that naturally falls into these poses and shares expressions freely.”
A photograph like this has to be done with a family that naturally falls into these poses and shares expressions freely. It is not something that you can ask just any group to do and expect the same spontaneity. For instance, as much as I like to have fun and laugh, a pose like this would never work with me; it would not be believable.
Background and Clothing
The facing-page portrait is another example why simple clothing and backgrounds are important. If the dad had been wearing a white shirt and tie, the son had a button-up Oxford shirt, and the mom was wearing a dress, this would not have worked. All of those peripheral things in a portrait are part of executing the vision.
Additional images from the same session.
If I know that I am going to have a level of spontaneity in a black & white session (in this case, a high level of spontaneity), I would never have them dress in a way that would show problems and keep them from having a successful and fun-loving session. In this portrait, the clothes are not a problem; the viewer sees nothing but the people.