Part 2, Working with Your Model to Get the Best Expressions

There are two kinds of people in this world – those who love having their picture taken and those who hate it. I fall in the latter category, not because I don’t enjoy the process, but I usually “ugh” at the results. Sometimes though, like it or not, you need a good photograph of yourself, whether for use in a publication, eHarmony, My Space, or sitting on the mantle.

Starting a photo session is always tricky. Inevitably, there is awkwardness and either model or photographer can become uncomfortable. But you have to start somewhere. I believe the best way to begin with a new model is to just start shooting, knowing that the first batch of pictures might not be very good. Happily, digital photography is free and there’s no film to be wasted, so you can easily snap away. After a few minutes of shooting, review your pictures to see what is working and what is not. You might notice that your subject looks best with his/her head tilted back, or that one side is more flattering than the other. I noticed that Wendy has a beautiful jaw line and was able to direct her to hold her head in a way that was flattering.
My standard way of putting people at ease is by acting goofy. If you are not afraid to be silly, your model won’t be either, and some of the best shots can come out of silly moments.

Positive reinforcement is also very important. If you’re a downer, your model will become self-conscious. In this case, I had my daughter, Chloe, outside with us in the stroller. I asked Wendy to get Chloe’s attention and make her smile. Then, when I said, “look up,” Wendy was to look, just with her eyes up to me. That’s how we got this shot.

But what should you do if your model dreads the process? My friend, Galit, is a beautiful girl but generally takes terrible pictures (I’m exaggerating, Galit, I swear…). She becomes self-conscious and makes her “picture face.” It’s like that episode of FRIENDS, where Chandler can’t stop making a ridiculous face in his wedding pictures. My solution with Galit was to take her picture when she wasn’t looking. She and I are both pleased with this shot.

Some other ideas for getting great expressions are to pretend you’re on America’s Next Top Model and vamp it up. For more serious shots, I find it helpful to direct my subjects as I would direct actors in a scene. Giving people a scene and character to work with sometimes helps to take them away from their own inhibitions.

Another important part of the process is the choosing of the winner shots. Everyone has a different idea of what the look like. And we’re all self-conscious about different facial features or our body type. It’s interesting to see what pictures people like best of themselves. As a photographer, we are entitled to an opinion about what pictures are the most flattering, but ultimately, it’s the client’s preference that matters.

Stay tuned to next week when I’ll be writing about very basic Photoshop techniques for headshots…