Suggestions from Rosie...

The following question was answered by Rosie Hardy {photographer from England} the advice is pretty helpful and something I'd most definitely want to keep in mind when photographing couples who may come off as shy:  

"Rosie, how do you get people to pose for you? Some couples are either brutally awkward or they just don't seem to care enough...I'm lost at times! Thanx!"

From what I've found, 90% of couples don't know too much what to do and for good reason - only p

professional models usually have a good idea! :P The thing I try and steer clear of mostly is cheesiness. Adding to that I think the #1 cheesy thing you can do is have someone doing something that's supposedly natural in an awkward, posed way - usually with the couple looking directly at the camera with uncomfortable smiles plastered on their faces. only a few photographers can pull these poses off and not make it look cheese, i certainly can't, so I'd say go in a different direction completely.

When it comes to poses (we're talking wedding/engagement yes?) first thing you want to do on a wedding is say "i'll make this as quick as possible because i know u guys are dying to get back!" that way they start off on your side. that'll hopefully get them to co-operate more.

Tell them to act like you are not there. Any smiling should be 100% like a natural smile, not a "posed for a photo" smile. By eliminating you as a factor in the shoot (somewhat) you're allowing the moments to be more private and so the pictures will be more intimate and natural.

Tell them to move - it's good to learn a few start of poses in case you get a couple who really are reluctant. I take pictures of a few poses i like and store them on my iphone to interpret on the day - so I'll arrange them into a pose I like, step back, and then tell them to just mess around from there and I'll give direction if I spot something really awesome working. The moment that I like to capture isn't the set pose, but the private moments in between when they're laughing at each other and fixing themselves up. The forgotten moments, if you like ;)

Lastly, an awesome trick I like to use if I'm working with a groom especially who doesn't like photos, is I tell the bride to stand in front of him and close her eyes. Then I tell him that he has to stand behind her and at his digression JUMP on her and let her have no idea when he's going to do it. It usually provokes awesome smiles and laughter and gets some pretty nice, fun pictures:

(Photo credit: Rosie Hardy)

Amanda {Pair} : Chicken soup for the beginner's photographers soul.

All of the following advice was given by Amanda {Pair} a photographer from Alabama. I read it and thought, this is just too good not to pass on (or forget about, for my reference) Thank you so much Amanda for being so open and honest with your readers =)

http://www.amandapair.com/

 

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So for those who are just starting out and wondering what the heck to do next, the following is a short list of what I recommend. This is by no means the only way to make things happen. My hope is that it gives you a little insight into what has worked for me.

TEACH yourself to shoot manually. Full manual mode, full time. I remember how hard it was to mentally manage all of the aspects of a session when I first started. The ONE thing that could be controlled for me was my camera. I took advantage of that thinking and my images suffered because of it. Shooting in manual is the only way to have complete control over the final look of your images.

INVEST in a good website. Your website is the world’s first impression of your business and should present your work with it’s best foot forward. Template websites are great when you are just starting, but you can set yourself apart ten-fold with the introduction of a custom site. I use Showit as my website platform which allows you to create and manage your own site easily. I’m not a designer by any stretch of the imagination, so I hired Spilled Milk Designs for my design. The switch from template to custom has been one of the best business decisions I have ever made. So many new photographers get caught up in what lens they should buy next or what equipment should be part of their next upgrade. We all know that professional equipment AIN’T cheap. If you have $1,500 to spend on an L-series lens, then you have $1,500 to put toward the launch of your brand new custom website. Trust me on this one! 

PROVIDE your clients with a great experience. When you are first starting out, it’s easy to doubt that a client base will appear out of thin air. But remember that all it takes is one cool client (or really good friend whose session you shot for free) to recommend her cool friend and now you have two cool clients — yay! Providing good customer service to the clients you do have is extremely important. I won’t lie, there are some clients that I have mentally fired in hopes that don’t call me again. But knowing when to bend over backwards for a client I value is worth it every time. I’d venture to say that 95% of my business comes directly from my current clients in the form of repeat business and referrals. The rest comes from random places like Google (see tip #2) and Facebook. 

ATTEND workshops and seminars. If I compare launching my new website to my discovery of tools, then attending Melissa Jill’s workshop last year sparked my invention of the wheel. Does that even make sense? What I’m saying is the education I received at her workshop and the other I attended last year changed the course of how I manage my business. I learned so many things that put me light years ahead of where I had been in this little journey of photography. It is important to know how to shoot accurately and consistently, but it is even more important to know how to run a successful small business. But BE CAREFUL. There are a lot of photographers out there offering workshops. Make sure that you do your homework and don’t fall into the trap of “celebrity” photographers looking to make a few quick bucks.

REACH OUT to other photographers. The microcosm of the photography world can feel a bit like high school. It is intimidating to reach out to other seemingly-established photographers and ask for advice or try to set up a coffee date. In regards to my business, I have always lived by the you-don’t-know-till-you-try rule. Sure, I’ve been met by the occasionally snobbiness, but more importantly I have made most of my best photography friends through the exchange of e-mails and blind lunch dates. Reaching out to other photographers (especially those in your area) and offering to buy them lunch or assist them is the best way to build those friendships.

Teaser.

Here are just a few shots I took today....I spent the evening with the wonderful Marlene and her niece Joanni :) 

 

My Love

As I've been studying, researching and observing wedding photography I came across LOVE ALA and it is official, I am IN LOVE with her blog (and her introduction video on her website loL)! If I thought I was more interested in wedding photography before, it has increased by 100% after reading her posts and looking at her photos...Of course I know her photos do not define wedding photography, but are her own style, I just  have to say then, I love it! The tone, angles and composition - so inspiring, invigorating, soft, peaceful, engaging, and enjoyable - Just look for yourself:

(all photos taken from www.loveala.net)

 

 

 

She captures intimate details of the day

 

 

HELLO! Talk about a money shot! Now that's what I'm talkin about =) loL I love this! 

LoL it was funny, I read one of her posts. She was talking about a couple she shot and she said something about the woman's outfit....then "are you kidding me with those ouftits?!" loL I thought she was insulting the way her client dressed that day but later realized that was just her expression. As in, are you kidding!? Those are hot!!

Confession

Okay, can I make a confession? Rather, voice my concerns on this post? I am freakin' out! I'm so excited and so nervous at the same time! "N~Grace Photography" is what I call my "business," but by no means do I think I'm professional photographer, sure I've gotten paid to do a few shoots here and there and yes I've actually been the primary photographer at a wedding before - huge mistake at the time - anywho I've gained so much knowledge in the last 6 months and of course still have a lot more to learn, I was talking to a freelancer yesterday at an event I attended and he gave me a lot of great tips about photography in general and how to go about starting my own business.

My concern comes from the fact that in 2 months I am scheduled to shoot another wedding and 2 weeks after the wedding I am scheduled to shoot a Black Tie event! So many people compliment my work (I appreciate it very much) and I know it's said that "you are your worse critic" but these opportunities have a bitter sweet taste to me. I feel like I need to train my eye a bit more and I need better (more) equipment BUT I also need the practice. I can never improve my skills without actually working. And ya know, the more research I do on engagement and wedding photography the more I like it and the more I am becoming interested in that over fashion photography.

Anywho, loL I'm all about lenses - which is most important anyway, right? - So I'll be using the 24-70 f/2.8 as one of the primaries at least that's what I'm thinking as of right now, maybe I'll use the 50mm or 35mm as a primary or 55-200 (I do not own a 70-200mm, it is on my wish-list loL) you know, as I write all of this, a saying a teacher of mine once said comes to mind: 'it is not about the painter's brushes, but about the painter'.........I guess I just need to go in with a confident attitude and relax a bit.

Thanks for listening readers loL
---- N~Grace

You wouldn't believe...

Fashion shoot today with two lovely ladies =) We had so much fun out there today, and I had a lot of fun editing the pics...I used my 35mm for all of these