First Date Jitters

Getting ready for a Portrait Photography session can sometimes feel like going on a first date (albeit without the same end goal). Both photographer and client have gotten to know one another a little through text and email exchanges and phone calls. (If you’ve read my previous blog post, then you know how my thorough pre-shoot process works). You’ve picked a venue. You’ve planned your wardrobe. Hair and makeup have been addressed. And yes, you’re hoping for a good in-person rapport.

Of course there are nerves. No matter how many sessions I do, or how many times I’ve run the shoot through my head, or how well the onboarding relationship-building has gone, you never quite know how it’s going to go on the day. You never know if you’re going to gel with the client or satisfy their needs.

So when I greet them at the door, there’s always a rush of adrenaline for what is sure to be a rollercoaster of a photoshoot.

I try to put them at ease from the start. They are entering a strange place, a strange studio, and placing a lot of trust in me, a relative stranger. (Important side-note, especially to the women out there: be mindful of who you are dealing with. There are a lot of unscrupulous players out there purporting to be photographers. Let your friends or family know where you’re going; text them when you get there and during the shoot if you can. And let the photographer know that’s what you’re doing; safety and common sense come first.)

I like to start off with a little chat, building on the foundation created by my questionnaire and the pre-shoot conversations. This is all done while I finish my set-up, to make it more casual and take the focus off what might otherwise seem like an interrogation. But even though I’m occupied with other activities, I always stay engaged; as with all productive communication, it’s often more about listening than speaking. From there, we run through the wardrobe they’ve brought, and begin to devise a strategy and a general flow for the shoot.

That’s where the fun begins!

I always find it takes a little while for both me and the client to warm up, to become familiar with one another’s style and potential, to get into a rhythm. I gauge their mood, their emotional sensibilities, their physical presence and comfort in front of the camera.

As I state on my website, I’m not about the pose of the day, I’m about the emotion of the moment, and I direct my subjects using that as my guiding light; sometimes the best shots come during the transitions between poses. My style is calm, casual, intuitive, keeping the subject informed about what I’m going for, guiding them through the process, but allowing them the freedom to explore on their own. I always tell them that they have the power within them to get me to take the shot by setting the right pose, the right mood, the right emotion. It’s empowering for them to understand this.

And then more often than not, we finally strike gold - that perfect shot, perfect pose, perfect lighting. The client is emboldened by this newfound power within them; relaxed and invigorated, the shoot gains fresh momentum.

While I rely on the rough framework I’ve set for the shoot, as we move from lighting setup to lighting setup, outfit to outfit, it’s inevitable that fresh ideas spring from the natural progression. A simple movement might spark a whole new avenue of creativity. That’s the beauty of such a collaboration — it’s fluid, flexible, and fertile ground for creative exploration.

By the end of our time together, if I’ve done my job right, the client leaves satisfied with the images we’ve captured together, confident in the creative experience we’ve shared, and eager to see the finished product.

And to be honest, as much as I love the process of working with a subject to tell their story during a photoshoot, it’s the editing process where I really come alive, setting the stage for me to deliver images to the client that reveal nuances about them they never even imagined.

That is the true satisfaction that comes from the work I do.