These are reminders on ways you can prepare for your shoot, and be yourselves with each other in front of the camera.
Because most of us forget who we are when a camera is pointed at us.
Location.
Can you think of a location that reflects you as a couple?
Don’t have any ideas? Here are a few questions that can stir some imagination:
Where was your first date?
Where did you meet?
Where are you the happiest? (Your couch? It doesn’t have to be anywhere extravagant).
Do you have a Sunday morning routine that you enjoy together?
What are your favorite movies?
When you have a day off together, where do you like to go?
Being in a location that suits you, helps for a relaxed atmosphere.
Make contact.
“What should we do?” is a question we all want to ask when we’re in front of the camera.
The question I want to ask you is, “What would you do if I wasn’t here with a camera?”
I don’t want to tell you how to tilt your head or where to place your hand.
Standing and looking at each other, enjoying each other’s company is enough to make a beautiful photograph. You can always fall back on that. I would rather do that than force you into a pose that doesn’t reflect you as a couple.
All you have to do is make contact.
Make contact of any sort. Touch hands, hold each other, put your hands in his jean loops, fix her hair. Make contact with your eyes.
It helps when you’re nervous to have someone there you can rely on through talking, or holding.
Never worry that standing and looking at each other isn’t enough in front of the camera.
Here is the same couple, standing and looking at each other. It’s technically the same as the last photo, right?
But the location has been changed for variation.
Looking at each other, being cute in a photo, doesn’t get old anyway, right?
Remember.
Remember how you interact when you are alone. Are you silly together? Be silly. Are you cool? Don’t be afraid to show it. Give me your best serious look. Are you introverted? Don’t feel pressure to be over the top. Are you weird? I’ve seen it all, and you don’t have to be embarrassed or shy.
Are you nervous?
This is the concept I like to drive home to everyone:
The three of us have planned a day to hang out, and I’m bringing my camera.
I absolutely love photographing my friends. If you’re curious of what that looks like, you can see a collection of photographs I’ve taken of them over the years here.
This is the approach I take for candid portrait sessions. We’re friends, and the focus is on hanging out.
Get comfortable exploring your surroundings, and see it as a day-off together.
Movement.
Movement always looks good in front of the camera.
Do you have to fix your hair? Did you hear something from behind?
Fix your hair, look behind.
Don’t be afraid to move. Don’t worry that moving will ruin the photograph, because it won’t.
These little movements will make you feel like you can be yourself in front of the camera, which will make you relaxed. A lot of these moves end up looking like “poses”.
Be light, and the in-between.
Some of the best photographs are the ones we get when walking from one spot to the next.
It’s the art of the “in-between”.
When you don’t have bags of stuff to carry, it’s easy to capture those subtle moments or glances, or laughs.
Wear.
Wear something you’re comfortable in and that reflects you.
Dress like yourself whether it be formal or casual.
If you’re going for a formal look, make sure to bring an extra pair of shoes for walking around in.
Some like to bring one or two outfits for the shoot to have variation in their photographs.
Either way, you don’t have to “match”, but you can wear outfits that complement each other in style.
Or you can completely match if that’s your style.
Do you like bright colors or print? I say, wear it if that’s what reflects you as a person or couple.
Are you complete opposites in style? That’s also totally okay.
These are usually big “no-no"‘s for photo shoots, but I think it can be done if it’s a concept that gets conveyed through your photographs.
Just take into account the location we are shooting in, and dress according to it. (Although, the idea of dressing in a way that juxtaposes to the location is a concept in itself! A big dress and a black suit in a diner? Street wear around the bank buildings downtown… Super cool… I digress. But the options are endless. Dream it up, and do what you want).
Take a break.
Take a food, or drink break. Take a breather.
If we are having fun and plan on shooting for a while, then stop and take a break. Nothing is fun when you’re hungry or tired.
But I may still take a few photos during the break :)
Positivity.
I derive a lot from you during a shoot, the same as you do from me.
This is an opportunity to build rapport and become friends.
A positive atmosphere makes for an enjoyable experience.
Don’t worry.
This doesn’t mean the whole shoot, and posing is completely left on your shoulders, with zero guidance.
All we have to do it meet each other half way.
Any bit of emotion you display to each other or movement you do, will help immensely in front of the camera.
I’m going to run through a few photo examples of how I approach posing, direction, and how those particular moments came about.
Megan and Sam.
The concept : Megan and Sam were soon moving away to England, and had built a home together in Toronto. They wanted to remember their apartment, and neighborhood.
We started the shoot off in their kitchen. I was taking pictures of Megan and Sam sitting together at their dining table, petting their cat. I had an idea to photograph Sam standing on the bench that they were sitting on, and have Megan remain sitting. They said they enjoyed “weird” photographs.
I asked if Sam could stand on the bench, and noticed how he was holding the ceiling to keep his balance when he first stood up, and an idea for a new pose surfaced. I simply asked if he could remain there with his hands on the ceiling, and for Megan to join beside him, then mimic what he was doing.
They were laughing as she stood up, and then I directed them to look at the camera afterward.
While they were adjusting to look at the camera, Megan fixed her hair, which resulted in another photograph in itself.
Within this, “pose” that was prompted by Sam’s movements, came a candid photograph, and two editorial style photographs.
Becca and Joel.
While we were walking around downtown Toronto, I noticed when we approached a corner, Becca and Joel couldn’t decide which way to go. They began to pull each other in opposite directions. I laughed, and Becca said, “This is something we do often.”
So I chose a side street, and used that as “direction” for a series of photographs. “Pull each other around and decide which way to go.”
This is a prompt I wouldn’t use on other couples, because it might not make sense, or suit the personalities of other people. But observing their small interaction offered up an idea that suited them.
My goal is for you to feel relaxed enough in front of the camera, where you can comfortably have your own kind of interactions.
Here, I simply asked Becca to stand on the curb, and Joel to stand on the street. They finished the idea.
Feel it.
I mostly encourage you to spontaneously kiss during a shoot, rather than me prompting for it. I just make sure I’m ready to take those kissing pictures. When you do so unprompted, the photographs feel organic and natural.
But occasionally, I may ask you to kiss, if I think it suits the frame.
I asked Joel and Becca to stand on the subway stairs, and kiss. But not just kiss; but to really kiss. Feel it. Be in it.
Feel the pose you’re doing. Be happy together, be romantic, be melancholy, dramatic, quiet, whatever it is, but be in it. If we are distracted or bored, it will show.
The life we put into the shoot, shows in the photographs.
