Senior Project- Part 2

jeffreaux2 · November 15, 2011

Thanks to all of you who offered Matt some honest C&C on his first set of shots. We talked about Dgrin and the C&C today while shooting and I think he really took it all as very constructive. He also really appreciated those of you who pointed out what was good and right with the images as well. You can expect that he will be posting some new images later this week from those we shot today.

From the first set, we accomplished solid exposures and focus.....technically correct images. Hopefully as we move forward I can coach Matt into creating something that is MORE than technically correct...and so today we began working some with posing and composition. We were treated to two models who behaved very differently from one another in front of the camera. Our first....victim....was very natural and at ease with being photographed. Any photographer could hardly go wrong with her in front of the lens. Our second model was a bit apprehensive and self aware......uncomfortable...in front of the camera. She gave me the opportunity to "win her over". After a few minutes she was completely relaxed and having fun. She even said she would do it again if Matt needed someone to shoot as his project progresses.

And this led us to focus a little on something I hadn't planned for today and that was communicating to the subject. I can tell Matt isn't very comfortable doing this yet. He is still super absorbed in fussing with exposure settings and focus and such. He is getting better at seeing beyond the subject to the background.....a good thing.....BUT.....talking with his subjects and putting them at ease will sooner or later be a main focus for one of our shoots.

He has watched me do it. Any advice you all can offer him on that would be great.:thumb

Here are links to previous threads on this project: Matt's Senior Project

.....and without further delay....here are a few shots that I managed to grab during our shoots.

1- Here Matt is shooting Tori against a wooden fence. You can see how harsh the sun was behind him. The fence provided some open shade and texture.

2- Same pose and fence from behind Matt

3- Tori - a natural in front of the camera

4- Matt - Showing Tori the goods.

5- Matt and Christine

6- Afternoon light here is amazing. The sun is on the opposite side of this building...but great bounce light comes from a white building across the street.:thumb

7- By this time Christine was very much "into" the photoshoot.

8-

9- And a last one I nearly forgot of Matt and Tori. We got some awesome natural short lighting here.:thumb

Mitchell · November 16, 2011

Jeff, thanks for the behind the scenes looks. Your portraits are stunning. I'm eager to see Matt's take on these beauties.

zoomer · November 16, 2011

Figure the first 20 to 30 minutes is a throw away. Spend that time working with the client teaching them how to look good in photos and getting them relaxed and feeling confident and creating the process and team. Have fun and laugh a lot.

Eventually they get into the flow of it and off we go.

Make sure to show them how great they look in the pictures right away.

Glad to see you both are enjoying the project....thanks for the behind the scenes views.

divamum · November 16, 2011

Really enjoying following this. And Jeff, these pullbacks are a real education. With some photographer's shots, I can easily imagine what's going on just out of frame. With yours, I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS would have guessed these "bigger pictures" from your final shots. Impressive, to say the least.

As for communicating with the subject.... I talk almost CONSTANTLY while I'm shooting. Sometimes it's chitchat, sometimes small adjustments of pose, sometimes "Oooh - I love it - stay RIGHT THERE!! No, not there, THERE!! Or THERE!!" (often eliciting a laugh/natural smile, which is what I want), sometimes making fun of myself as I twiddle with camera settings or do something dumb like walk backwards into something. Also, LOTS of encouragement, "That looks great - beautiful - hold it - now head a little right - great - so pretty - love your hair over your shoulder - now give me sparkly eyes - drop your chin - more sparkly eyes - even sparklier!" etc etc.

I tend to overshoot a lot when I'm working in that way - I'm shooting through "real" expressions and some of them will be pretty bad, but I also sometimes get real keepers when doing that.

Conversely, sometimes when I feel somebody warming up, I'll just keep the camera to my eye (I hate shooting on a tripod) and wait until a moment when the expression appears. Both techniques work.

I've found most people really, really REALLY want to be guided because they feel like they don't know what to do in front of the camera, so don't be afraid to be specific and help them out; for me, this is actually the hardest part. I can see a good pose when it happens, but still haven't mastered putting people in position (although I'm getting better at it, I think).

Also, I've found giving them "permission" to act totally over-the-top in front of the camera can be great. I'll often tell them this is their chance to play supermodel/celebrity and do all those daft things they usually only ever do in front of the mirror when they're bopping along to their ipod and think nobody's looking

. Even if they don't feel comfortable going that far, it usually gets a laugh/smile. And for some people they just SWITCH ON when you do that!

Another thing I've found helpful is to get the subject to look away or look down and then turn back to me. Keeps them from getting too frozen/stiff.

Bryce Wilson · November 16, 2011

What a great thread! Educating the lad and us at the same time! Thanks...

Shots look really good. Would really like to see a finished shot of the last pull back.

Mitchell · November 16, 2011

divamum wrote: »

Another thing I've found helpful is to get the subject to look away or look down and then turn back to me. Keeps them from getting too frozen/stiff.

This is a great suggestion!

I keep going back to Jeff's threads. Really a generous gift. I'm thinking of going back to high school and signing up for his program!

Bryce Wilson · November 16, 2011

What a great thread! Educating the lad and us at the same time! Thanks...

Shots look really good. Would really like to see a finished shot of the last pull back.

jeffreaux2 · November 16, 2011

Mitchell wrote: »

Jeff, thanks for the behind the scenes looks. Your portraits are stunning. I'm eager to see Matt's take on these beauties.

I appreciate that Mitchell, but.....BUT...lets surely let Matts work speak on its own accord. In talking yesterday I pointed out to him that I got my first REAL camera at the same age that he is now. A shiney new pentax me super 35mm for my high school graduation gift. I have been at this for awhile. He has literally JUST begun, and can probably still count on his own two hands the number of times he has taken that camera out and shot with it. He is picking it up quick though....and is also developing a passion. I REALLY got a kick out of his reaction when he has seen something beautiful in the viewfinder.

I have convinced him that RAW is the way to go. He is coming over on Thurs. to use my machine to edit his files. Im sure he will post afterwards....that is ...if he can stand the wait.:D

Oh and.....the playback on his Rebel takes a painfully long time. The image processor is super slow with RAW. To remedy I am going to lend him my old XTi for our next shoot. He will get a quantam leap in focus system and image quality....plus more speed. It is a very capable tool. I have shot plenty of stunners with it in the past.

jeffreaux2 · November 16, 2011

zoomer wrote: »

Figure the first 20 to 30 minutes is a throw away. Spend that time working with the client teaching them how to look good in photos and getting them relaxed and feeling confident and creating the process and team. Have fun and laugh a lot.

Eventually they get into the flow of it and off we go.

Make sure to show them how great they look in the pictures right away.

Glad to see you both are enjoying the project....thanks for the behind the scenes views.

If our first subject here had taken 30 minutes we would have gotten zippo. We only had a good solid 30 minutes or so to shoot. An hours shooting time for the second young lady.

I think the best thing you can do right from the start is to make sure that the very first shot is gorgeous. Then show it to them.

Most are worried how they will look in photos. If you show them right away how pretty they really look it immediately relaxes them.

There is much more that I do personally....but first...with a nervous client...I take them to some "known" rocksolid natural light, pose them, and then show them a winner.

jeffreaux2 · November 16, 2011

divamum wrote: »

Really enjoying following this. And Jeff, these pullbacks are a real education. With some photographer's shots, I can easily imagine what's going on just out of frame. With yours, I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS would have guessed these "bigger pictures" from your final shots. Impressive, to say the least.

Well, part of the education is to teach him that a great portrait can be had at most any location. It's all about recognizing what is and isnt possible with the light. We missed an opportunity against that wooden fence. It was the PERFECT situation for bouncing the light coming over the fence back at the subject with a foam core or reflector. We are getting there though!

As for communicating with the subject.... I talk almost CONSTANTLY while I'm shooting.

No Way!!!

(J/K)

Sometimes it's chitchat, sometimes small adjustments of pose, sometimes "Oooh - I love it - stay RIGHT THERE!! No, not there, THERE!! Or THERE!!" (often eliciting a laugh/natural smile, which is what I want), sometimes making fun of myself as I twiddle with camera settings or do something dumb like walk backwards into something. Also, LOTS of encouragement, "That looks great - beautiful - hold it - now head a little right - great - so pretty - love your hair over your shoulder - now give me sparkly eyes - drop your chin - more sparkly eyes - even sparklier!" etc etc.

I talk a lot myself. Coaxing expressions mostly. Setting a mood. If I sense tension, I will get really REALLY specific with how I want feet and or Hands posed and "shaped". If they are busy keeping those parts the way I asked, then maybe they ease up worrying about their smile or how they will look. In other words, I busy them up and get them involved in the shooting more......so they will let go of the "being shot at" a little.

Does that make sense?

I tend to overshoot a lot when I'm working in that way - I'm shooting through "real" expressions and some of them will be pretty bad, but I also sometimes get real keepers when doing that.

I have cut way back on frame rates. It's just too much to cull. I prefer to set something up...shoot it quick...and then move to something else. If the light is sweet....I might keep the location, but change around the pose and camera angles.

Conversely, sometimes when I feel somebody warming up, I'll just keep the camera to my eye (I hate shooting on a tripod) and wait until a moment when the expression appears. Both techniques work.

What is a tripod anyway?

I have 3 in the attic if anyone wants one....

I've found most people really, really REALLY want to be guided because they feel like they don't know what to do in front of the camera, so don't be afraid to be specific and help them out; for me, this is actually the hardest part. I can see a good pose when it happens, but still haven't mastered putting people in position (although I'm getting better at it, I think).

Being specific is best. If they sit and say"what do I do with my hands?", then you arent being specific enough. Still, you have to be able to recognize when someone is uncomfortable. I noticed this yesterday with how I had posed Christine against the white repeating columns. So I said....hey you look uncomfortable. I asked her to keep her feet where they were but to push off the wall and then settle back onto it on her own accord. It made a huge difference in the body language....even though she was basically right where she had been.

Also, I've found giving them "permission" to act totally over-the-top in front of the camera can be great. I'll often tell them this is their chance to play supermodel/celebrity and do all those daft things they usually only ever do in front of the mirror when they're bopping along to their ipod and think nobody's looking . Even if they don't feel comfortable going that far, it usually gets a laugh/smile. And for some people they just SWITCH ON when you do that!

I might have to steal this idea.

Another thing I've found helpful is to get the subject to look away or look down and then turn back to me. Keeps them from getting too frozen/stiff.

I do this as well....but usually only when the light is too intense behind me....like a seated pose and I am standing above for a frame filler with a bright blue sky behind me. Some folks cant stare at that for long. Same goes with reflectors.

Thanks for the insight.

jeffreaux2 · November 16, 2011

Bryce Wilson wrote: »

What a great thread! Educating the lad and us at the same time! Thanks...

Shots look really good. Would really like to see a finished shot of the last pull back.

Well. It was a tough spot to shoot since it was NOT in shade. So. We had to keep wait for the sun to drop into the scattered cloud cover that we had. Then shoot. I definqately got a shot here. But. Lets wait and see what Matt got.:D

jeffreaux2 · November 16, 2011

Mitchell wrote: »

This is a great suggestion!

I keep going back to Jeff's threads. Really a generous gift. I'm thinking of going back to high school and signing up for his program!

Mitchell, I think you would be an excellent candidate. I bet there's a kid on a local yearbook staff down there who has the gear, but would LOVE the opportunity to learn more.

I think you should go find that guy...or girl...and teach them what a garage is really built for!

Is that what you meant?

DavidTO · November 16, 2011

No links to the threads you're referring to? I have to go search for them? :rutt

jeffreaux2 · November 16, 2011

DavidTO wrote: »

No links to the threads you're referring to? I have to go search for them? :rutt

Hmmm.

Sorry about that. I hadn't thought about creating a thread with links to both mine and Matt's threads, but I can see where that would be helpful. Ill get to it sometime this week!

DavidTO · November 16, 2011

jeffreaux2 wrote: »

Hmmm.

Sorry about that. I hadn't thought about creating a thread with links to both mine and Matt's threads, but I can see where that would be helpful. Ill get to it sometime this week!

I just meant in your first post in this thread, where you refer to another thread it would be nice if there were a link to it. I'm new to this, and really have no idea what you're talking about. No need for a new thread!

jeffreaux2 · November 16, 2011

DavidTO wrote: »

I just meant in your first post in this thread, where you refer to another thread it would be nice if there were a link to it. I'm new to this, and really have no idea what you're talking about. No need for a new thread!

I fixed something up....

I think it will be better this way as I expect the threads to pile up some on this.

Matt's Senior Project Links

shatch · November 16, 2011

This is a great project Jeff. Will be fun to continue watching the development of a future master. Quite inspiring for the rest of us to reach out and do likewise.

jeffreaux2 · November 18, 2011

shatch wrote: »

This is a great project Jeff. Will be fun to continue watching the development of a future master. Quite inspiring for the rest of us to reach out and do likewise.

.....well if you decide to do some teaching I'd like to sign up for your "Fun and Creativity with Light 101" class!!!

Thanks for the support!

Senior Project- Part 2

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