WINDBLOWN – “But it’s [blow dryer] not even hitting her…” my assistant said as she loyally held the blow dryer that was facing across our client. She’s used to holding a fan or blow dryer toward our clients so that it creates a windblown effect on the hair so this was new to her. And most of the time, I would use the fan to create a windblown effect. After all, have you ever put a fan on your clients and noticed they take on a whole new personality!! A fan or a blow dryer…it doesn’t matter. The effect is the same. It distracts them from “posing.”
This woman, probably the toughest to photograph yet, was just so stiff and trying way too hard; you know the type. When I used the “windblown” look, I realised that the noise from the blow dryer helped her to relax. Problem was, that I had already been photographing her for a little while and really didn’t have a shot I was happy with without the “wind.”
Did I mention she was the toughest to date?!
So I showed my assistant where to hold the blow dryer. I had it blowing across her [camera right to left] but it actually wasn’t hitting her at all. It was the noise that calmed her. I was able to get the same effect without having her hair move. It reminded me of a newborn photographer who uses the white noise machines. It had a similar effect and it worked.
So you’re super comfortable and confident in posing your clients. No? Click [HERE].
But what about facial expressions? The noise of a blow dryer or strength of a fan is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to helping your client relax. And because “facial expression” is one of the concerns I’ve been hearing that you want addressed, I’ve pulled together a few of my favorite tricks for getting your clients to look more relaxed on camera. And let’s face it….relaxed is sexy.
DEEP BREATH – I ask my clients to take a big, deep breath and blow out of their mouths. I then take the shot at the very end of that breath. When a woman is trying to look sexy or pose in a certain way, she is tensing up her facial muscles and nothing is less flattering. But at the end of the breath, her muscles are physically the most relaxed that they can be. She can’t help but relax. I may do this a few times and even tell them what I’m doing. If she’s still struggling, have her look down, then exhale, then look back up at the end of the breath.
TALK, TALK, TALK – Get me talking and it’s hard to get me to quick. If I have a nervous client, I am the one doing the talking, 80-90% of the time. The more nervous she is, the more talking I do. It takes the pressure off my client to have to know what to say when she is internally freaking out about being photographed but it also gives her something else to focus on. I’m usually telling a funny story as I work, joking about myself [I never make fun of a past client] or chatting about what matters to them [their kids, nutrition, their work, how they met their husband etc.]
DETAILS – If all else fails, make sure you are taking lots of details shots or shots that crop off part of her face. Maybe you focus her lips. Maybe you focus on a curl of hair that falls in front of her face, leaving her face farther out of focus. Maybe you create shape by shooting a silhouette. The idea is create photographs that will add pages to an album while simultaneously avoiding her tensed up look.
You may opt to show her one of the detail shots mid-shoot so that she relaxes and realises she is doing great and that there’s nothing to worry about. That’s completely up to you. Sometimes I do; sometimes I don’t. If I do opt to show her something, she’s usually in dark shadow or it’s a selective focus detail shot. The worse thing you can do is show her something thinking it will boost confidence and it does the opposite. It’s not a finished product so you don’t want her to worry too much.
And because I don’t want her asking me throughout the entire shoot to show her the back of the camera, I click the “info” button on the back of the camera so that it shows the picture along with the histogram and camera settings etc. I let her know that “this camera is not like your standard point and shoot so it’s not a very large proof but you can get the idea.” Not only does this look more professional [reading the histograms etc.] but it also makes the proof that she’s seeing smaller. She’s less likely to be able to point out what she doesn’t look like if I’m quickly showing her a small photo. Then, I just hit the info button again and I keep going!
Some of these may seem a little silly and insignificant to you but one of the things I hear after almost EVERY shoot is “This was so much fun; I was so nervous but you make me feel so comfortable!” And that is so super important to me. I know I do good work and I will do the best work for each of my clients, so I don’t sweat the photos too much. But client experience is everything!! I want them skipping out of my studio, excited to tell their friends about how much fun it was and how easy it was. After all…as the old saying goes, “…people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
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