Creating Portraits for The Creative Education Trust
Preparation and thinking through my workflow is key to photographing any person, especially when they are a stranger and in an unfamiliar location. There are lots of elements to consider from location to assessing light to how I need to frame them.
Why is this important?
By having already thought through many elements and potential challenges I might face, it allows me to concentrate fully on the person when I am with them and my ‘hidden ingredients’.
Ingredient 1
Find out who you are photographing and do your research. Who are they and can you get a sense of what interests them?
As a photographer you direct the conversation and having topics of conversation which they are familiar with and interested in helps to build up rapport quickly.
Ingredient 2
Set an intention for the shoot. Ask yourself what energy do you want to bring with you? How do you want that person and ultimately the viewer to feel?
For this commission I chose; bold, confident, powerful, relaxed, self assured, energetic, serious, warm.
Ingredient 3
Empower them. There is always an interesting dynamic of power between the photographer and sitter, and often the person being photographed can feel a level of vulnerability.
When I work with someone I will get them to look left and right and then ask them in their own time to look at the camera so that they have a choice.
I will get someone sat down or have their back to something initially so that they feel less exposed, building to wide open spaces or places with a lot of other people around near the end of the shoot.
I will pay attention to their body language; rolling their shoulders back, standing with their feet hip width apart and taking deep breaths.
Working on this commission was a real privilege, and I loved meeting all of these talented and interesting young people. Now just to wait for the magazine to come out in September!
