What photographers are thinkin bout when you're in front of them
The mind of a photographer in action is a hectic one...
The amount of snap decisions made before we hit the shutter button is insane.
Recently, a client pointed out to me that when I am in the middle of a session, my face looks super focused and intense.
That got me thinking - what exactly am I thinking about that makes my face look that way?
Here’s a sampling of some of the stuff that runs through my mind before I hit the shutter button before every single shot:
Is this the right lens for this shot?
How does the background look with her sitting in front of it?
Should I frame this as a wide shot or close-up?
Do I re-frame that person in the background out or just wait until they move?
...and now, someone else decided to walk into the shot - HURRY UP ALREADY!
Do I move her a little to the left or right, hmmm - I think left looks more flattering...
Oh shit, now she looks a little slouchy, tell her to sit up straight…
And now her neck looks unflattering, tell her to jam her forehead towards the camera to clean that up and tighten up the jawline…
Dammit - now her blouse moved into a weird direction, tell her to fix it…
Her left eye is covered by her bang, tell her to move it and not tuck it behind the ear...
Should she fold her hands? Wait, maybe she’s not a hand-folder - ask her to change up what she’s doing with her hands and arms and see what she naturally does….
“NO, don’t cross your arms, you look defensive - try something else, please.” Haha, she just folded her hands - of course that happened, :)
Okay, this is shaping up - let me inspire some personality out of her with a stupid comment that will generate a positive expression, but, before I do, lemme make sure Im happy with this frame.
“I’m too lazy to get off my ass and pose you myself, so, I want you to do all the work!”
...aaaaaand, there’s a hint of a smile...BINGO!
TAKES PICTURE - then, reviews it quickly in the back of the camera...
SHIT, IT’S OUT OF FOCUS - time to repeat the whole process again.
This mental process is repeated several hundred times throughout a branded lifestyle portrait session, so, it stands to reason why I basically collapse of exhaustion in the cab ride home from every single branded lifestyle portrait session.
It may be draining, but man, it sure is a pretty amazing way to spend a day, :)
How do you spend your day? What problem solving do you tackle when working with your clients?
Please share your thoughts here.
PS - For those of you who aren’t in the know, I mail out these blogs 3x a week, and lemme tell you, they’re a real party, so, if you’d like to get in on this, sign up for it here and I’ll throw in a free gift for you, because I care, :)