Lori’s been in studio a few times and she’s a lot of fun to work with.
The first time we shot together she was worried that she would not have a very wide variety of expressions to offer.
We managed to “find” some expressions and this one was one of my favorites.
Finding a client a way of tapping into the range of emotions within is more art than science. Sometimes it’s straight forward, other times I find myself being devious or posing preposterous situations.
But — whatever works.
🙂
I rarely wander over to the other side of the lens.
And while I’m doing MY thing on the working side of the camera I often wonder what’s going on in the head of my client or model.
Sarah’s contemplative expression here is only one variety of the common expressions. Once in a while I’ll catch a special little smirk, or a glimmer of amusement. I almost always get models and clients to laugh and have a good time in studio — photos don’t have to be difficult and making the process of creation easy for my clients is part of my job.
Having said that, I often tease regular models about being on their side of the lens. Afterall — THEY are the ones wanting to have THEIR images made…. as for me, I’ll stay on my side and not worry about holding a pose or whether my shirt is wrinkled or whether I should have chosen a different color outfit for my pictures.
I love my job, but I love even more being on the little side of the camera. The eye I look through is less intrusive than the eye that stares down my subjects.
Teen love / Teen infatuation is wonderful. I scarcely find the same joy on a face as I do when I shoot high school kids who are going to a dance. It’s not the love of pre-marriage, it’s not the love of a mother for her child, it’s not mature, it’s not reasoned, it’s not rational, it’s not measured.
But where on earth does a kid nowadays go to buy a bowler — and who the heck WEARS one ….
All of my clients don’t want conventional photography. Sometimes their tastes lean towards other flavors.
I frequently turn straightforward portraits into unique pieces.
Why is it that young boys always want to look so serious?
When I was young my mom used to say I was born an old man… (and then when I grew up she kept telling me to “grow up” — go figure) But I can still remember those days of intensity, when the world was just a big oversized hamburger waiting for me to take a bite out of it.
This young guy blew me away with his sober look — heck — he can do it better than some of those 20 something poseurs who like to use it to snag girls…. and he’s only 10….
I love it when clients can relax enough in studio to let their natural expression surface.
Meet Korrie. She’s a dance teacher — well, that’s to say that she teaches choreography to all sorts of people who don’t dance…. How’s that for a funny explanation.
But it turns out that she teaches band members how to move and honor guards their routines — more gymnastic than dance –but fun.
She was a lot of fun to shoot, great legs, great smile. But this is one of my fav’s from our shoot. A moment of relaxation and thought…..
In pursuit of happy clients sometimes what’s wanted is not strictly speaking a mere photographic representation. Sometimes they are looking for something to capture their mood or a state of mind.
This impressionistic style effect was used to carry forward a state of mind for one client.
The tool used, the effect created depends on the taste of the client. From time to time I show some of these to illustrate that creating images is not simply about tripping a shutter.
In the mean time we are cooling our jets at Frank’s place. Trips to four different groceries lead to an interesting morning. I don’t know if it would have been easier to bring some things with us in the little car, but we had fun anyway.
The New Car is running well. Fuel Mileage after the first fillup was 33 miles — so I’m happy.
Embrace Serendipity 
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