BRIEF, PURPOSE AND CONNECTION
The first step is establishing a good relationship or rapport with the model – it’s paramount that they like you and trust in your work
Two key elements of a shoot for me are an understanding of the brief and the purpose of the image, and connecting with my subject to get the best image from them that successfully delivers on this brief.
Whether you are engaged by a client or shooting for yourself, it’s normally good to have a clear, planned vision of the mood and direction of the shoot, even if you end up veering off course!
Creating a mood board of images and thinking through the purpose of the shoot gives you something to discuss and explain to your subject. This helps them envisage the final image, and understand the direction. It also, very importantly, gives them confidence in you and your work. This is not always possible, but where you have the time and opportunity to do so, it’s a great tool. If you are delivering to a defined brief, you can explain what the outcomes need to be, and how you think you’ll achieve it. Asking for the subject’s feedback and preferences is also helpful, as it helps create the idea of you working as a team, and means you can direct the shoot in a way that makes them feel most comfortable. It’s better to hear that someone can’t stand their teeth, rather than spending an hour trying to force them to do an openmouth smile!
Photographing portraits, I get to meet many people from very diverse places and backgrounds, and whether I have a day or two minutes working with them, it’s very important to me that I create good rapport. Research helps – I look at the subject’s social channels, Google them, look at previous work. Where I find common ground, I use it to create conversation, as sharing experiences or interests helps establish rapport.
Finally, when you get to shooting, it is imperative that your model feels comfortable. My normal rule of thumb (where I have the time luxury) is to write off the first 5-15 minutes – this time can be set aside for warming into the shoot, looking for the best angles and working out how best to achieve the shot. Increasingly I find showing the subject the tethered image to be very useful. This allows them to look and correct things they dislike (so you don’t have to find out later that you wasted time on images that will never get picked!), and gives you a way to show them why you are asking them to move and pose in certain ways – it gives them the confidence in both themselves and you.