Thursday, August 09, 2012

strobist.blogspot.com

On Photographing People: Pt. 1

Sara Lando is On Photographing People, Pt. 1: Before the Shooting

an occasional 
contributor to
Strobist, but is By Sara Lando -- So you know your f-stops, you can
also a commer- balance speedlights with ambient, you can over-
cial photogra- power the sun and color correct light to the point
pher based in you can walk into a room and guesstimate the Kel-
Milan, Italy. vins like a boss... and yet all you get are sharp images
Today, I am of really uncomfortable people? 
very pleased to
present the Can you be a people photographer if you’re not a
first in her people person? 
three-part se-
ries on photo- My best asset, according to clients and subjects, is
graphing people. the fact that I can make people enjoy having their
picture taken and, as a result, I can ask them to do
Let me back up. A few months ago, I met with all of almost anything and they’ll be happy to oblige. 
the Strobist’s correspondents in Los Angeles. We
were brainstorming to fill the knowledge gaps in
the site’s content. Suddenly Sara started off on this
tangent on all of the things that get lost in the shuffle
when thinking about lighting and lenses and came-
ras, etc. Picture a tiny Italian woman gesturing
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continuously as she uncorks a full brain dump (from

a very, very creative mind) on all of the little things
that many people never think of when photogra-
phing others.

As I was listening I kept thinking, «Someone should

be writing this stuff down RIGHT NOW.»

English is Sara’s second language, and I normally

smooth it out a little when editing her pieces. Not
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today. I am sending this through largely untouched. 

Should you come across an unusual way to express
something, just imagine the Italian accent behind
it. 
Printed with

__________

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strobist.blogspot.com
On Photographing People: Pt. 1
 Also, models won’t tell you what you did wrong (but
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 ken. People hate being tagged on Facebook in awful
It hasn’t always been like this, though: the first time
I had to photograph someone that wasn’t myself,
I spent the night before puking, and it was half a
disaster. Ten years later, these are the things I wish
someone had told me back then.
__________
Before you can even think about what to do when
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you’re photographing someone you have to convince
them to be in front of your camera. And a lot of
people find this to be really hard (after all a camera
is one of the best ways to avoid talking to other hu-
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man beings...).
There are basically two possibilities: hiring a profes-
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Thursday, August 09, 2012
sional model vs asking someone, be it a loved one
or a stranger (I’m intentionally not going to cover
how to steal portraits from unaware passers by with
very long lenses). If you’re really uncomfortable
with asking people you know, I highly recommend
avoiding paying for a professional model. Yet, it is
often harder to take a good portrait of a model be-
cause they have enough experience to save your
pictures when you don’t know what you’re doing.
So you end up mistaking a photo of a beautiful girl
for a beautiful photo. You learn very little and waste
lots of money.
they’ll tell the next female photographer they work
with, aka: me), while a wife is probably making a
list the moment you unzip the camera bag. Suck it
up and go for it!
I very rarely meet someone who doesn’t hate to
have their picture taken though, so we meet our
very first obstacle:
How to convince people to be photographed by you

Truth is, people don’t hate having their picture ta-
photos that everyone will see.
My advice is to start with friends and loved ones,
people you feel comfortable with and can easily
speak to. If you already know your friend Bob is a
Star Wars fan, he will not pass on the opportunity
of posing for a portrait with a full Darth Vader cos-
tume. And if you’ve been married for years to a
woman who hates the shape of her ears, you won’t
make the rookie mistake of having her hair up for
the pictures (ending up with her forbidding you to
EVER show them to anyone).
Volunteer as the official photographer at your na-
na’s 90th birthday. Bribe your kids. Do it again and
again.
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On Photographing People: Pt. 1

I was incredibly shy when I started photography so

I decided to take a bazillion self portraits instead.
Whatever you decide to do, the main goal is to build
a very small portfolio of decent pictures you can
show to potential victims subjects. I have a couple
of ongoing projects that are great for contacting
potential subjects. Both are really easy setups and it
takes me just a few minutes to get the shot, leaving
me plenty of time to do something else. And most
of all it shows potential subjects the kind of image
they would be getting from me.


This is important because it takes an incredible
amount of trust to let someone take you picture
and you have to reassure people you actually DO
know how to operate a camera. The only way to do
so is by having work to show.

This alone isn’t going to be enough. Most of the time,

people will still be wary. Why would you want to
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take their picture? Why them?

Spot the difference between “Can I take your pic-

ture? I asked everyone else and they said no,” and
“Can I take your picture? I have this image in mind
for a personal project and you would be the perfect
 fit for that. You can say no, of course, but can I show
you my moodboard first?”

The second sentence works best for several reasons:

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• you don’t sound like an a-hole

• you are making them feel worthy of being photo-
graphed
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• you imply you have an actual project in mind

• you are giving them the chance to say no

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On Photographing People: Pt. 1
If you don’t have a picture to show what you have
in mind, this is where moodboards come in really
handy. I can use less words and be more effective.
I’m sure you can perfectly understand what I’m
going after if I say: “Botticelli’s Spring, Vivaldi, cham-
pagne colored tulle, and really soft hand gestures”
rather than “Biker gang in a smokey bar, runaway
girl, smeared mascara and a missing tooth.»
Even a quick sketch can be helpful when you’re
trying to explain a concept. Here’s an example of
a concept sketch and the resulting image (takes a
good leap of imagination, but it still works better
than “I want to paint your face.”)
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Of course you need to make sure you’re picking the
right idea for the right subject. Don’t be the one who
sidelights the girl with bad skin using hard light or
tries to force the shy girl into a skimpy bikini; if the
picture comes out awful it’s not because they’re bad
models, it’s just that you’re a jerk.
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The same approach is valid even if you are contac-
ting potential subjects on Facebook or on websites
for test shootings. Have pictures in your portfolio,
approach people with a project that is designed
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around them and be professional about it.
If you’re working with a creative team everyone
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Thursday, August 09, 2012
needs to receive the same reference material. You’re
the director of the whole thing. If it comes together,
it’s thanks to the team. If it fails, it’s your fault.
THEY SAID YES: NOW WHAT? 
Once you start planning a shooting, the first thing
you might want to do is to gather all the data you
will need: contact info, location availability, mea-
surements, details that might ruin the photo shoot
(e.g. a long haired model who just cut her hair really
short, or has a big tattoo you weren’t aware of). You
can send a questionnaire to fill out, you can talk to
people over the phone.
I’d rather invite them for a coffee. This is great for
several reasons:
• you get to see them in person and you can start
figuring out their best angles
• you get to see how they move
• you can start building a relationship with them,
making them excited about the shooting
• you can answer any question or address any
concern they might have and see if some of your
suggestions rub them the wrong way
There’s a bunch of questions first time subjects
always ask me:
1) what clothes do I bring? 
Unless the concept is very specific or I have a sty-
list involved, I usually ask them to bring something
really basic, preferably in plain color. A black top, a
white top, something they are very comfortable in,
and a bunch of their favourite clothes. I want them
to feel beautiful. Everyone has that pair of pants
they wear when they want to impress. It might not
be what you end up using for “The Picture,» but it’s
a great starting point.
One piece of advice I always give: do not wear stuff
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On Photographing People: Pt. 1
your kids might mock you for, 20 years from now.
2) What about makeup? 
Having a makeup artist can be great (it makes people
feel pampered and special and really cuts the time
you spend post producing skin.) But I often like to
work without one and for a first timer I’d rather
have no other people on the set.
Usually women can take care of their own makeup,
but I still ask them to keep it natural. A nice base
and some mascara will be enough not to make them
feel “naked” and a bad makeup can really ruin a
good photo.
This is also when I reassure them about skin imper-
fections: I will take care of them. The lights I use will
make their skin beautiful and if there is a pimple,
I will get rid of it in 2 seconds in Photoshop. I also
send them this rollover image.
Why would I do that? Because people will obsess
about a single zit and they will try to cover it with
their hand, hair or hiding it away from the camera.
I want them to completely forget about it when we
are working. Photoshopping away an imperfection
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takes less than 2 seconds, but I cannot photoshop
away a scared expression.
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 release also prevents me from using their pictures
3) can I bring someone? 
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Thursday, August 09, 2012
I don’t mind people watching me work now, but it
used to make me really nervous. I’ve always been
honest about it, and I still prefer not to have people
sitting around just watching.
Some may get very self-conscious while others are
watching them—even more when it’s loved ones—
because they are afraid of being judged as “vain”.
My policy now is that if someone is on set, they
work. I have them hold reflectors or strobes, I ask
them to throw rose petals in the background. Wind
machine? Pppft. I’d rather use a big piece of card-
board and someone’s escort.
There are things subjects usually don’t ask, but I
tell them anyway:
a) bring your own music. 
I like people to bring their i-Pods or burn CDs of
music they love. It’s something familiar in a very un-
familiar situation and can be the difference between
getting to the shot in 10 minutes or 2 hours. I ask
for something specific according to the mood I’m
going for: bring music that makes you feel powerful.
Bring the kind of music you’d listen to on a rainy
day. Bring music that makes you wanna dance. If
they have the reference images and I have asked
them to pick songs, I can be pretty sure they will be
rehearsing in front of a mirror.
One of my best purchases has been the Jambox by
Jawbone. It’s a small, powerful wireless bluetooth
boombox you can take with you on location.
b) What I will do with your photos and what I
won’t do with them. 
You have to have this conversation before people
step into your studio. They need to know they’ll be
asked to sign a release and they need to be com-
fortable with it. I take the time to explain that the
for commercial uses without their consent and that I
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On Photographing People: Pt. 1

will never publish something they haven’t approved
first.
c) I give them my contact informations and col-
lect theirs. 
your subject is standing there to a minimum. But
you also might want to think about makeup and
props: go from simple to most messy. If you have
several steps of makeup, remember that building
up is easier than taking away.

Not only I will need this information for the model

release, but I will definitely need to get hold of people
if something happens and there’s a change of plan
and I need to make sure they can contact me if they
have any problem. 

My advice for dealing with “models” who don’t want

to give you their phone numbers or at least an email?
Don’t bother booking shootings with them. The pizza
delivery place asks for my phone number when I
place an order: it’s part of what they do. No number,
no pizza.

Build the first set and test your lights. Mark the spot
THE DAY BEFORE THE SHOOTING:  in which you want your subject to stand. I usually
ask my husband to stand in (after all that’s part of
Make sure the studio (or location) you’ll be shooting his marital duties), take a bunch of self-portraits or
in is going to be clean, comfortable, with the right use my pig mask impaled on a light stand, which
temperature for the clothes your subject is going to works just as well. (You don’t need to be fancy: I
wear and a separate place for changing into them. have used upside-down mops duct taped on chairs
If you don’t have a changing room, a screen or a for quite a while and it works like a charm.)
sheet stretched between two light stands will do
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just fine. If you’re going to be outdoors, invest in a

small popup tent.

Get food and water for the shooting. This might be

obvious to some of you, but I assure you most pho-
tographer don’t even offer their subjects a glass of
tap water.
I usually go for tea and cake, but also have bottled
water and fresh fruit available. I’d recommend
avoiding stuff that stains teeth (no cranberry juice)
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and keep disposable toothbrushes and dental floss

available: you don’t want to photoshop speck of food
out of people’s smiles.
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Have a list of shots you want to do and figure out

in which order you are going to shoot them: you’ll
want to keep the time you spend building sets while

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On Photographing People: Pt. 1


 I check my gear: batteries must be loaded, cards
must be formatted, lens must be clean.

I make a call sheet and send it to everyone involved

in the project: location address should be written
on it, as well as everyone’s contact info and a list
of things they are supposed to bring and a rough
schedule of the shooting. It might sound something
really silly to do if it’s not a big production, just like
you might feel uncomfortable asking your friends to
sign a model release because, after all, they’re your
friends, right? To answer your question: my mum
signed a model release when I took her portrait.
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This might make me look a bit of a nutjob, but the

night before the shooting I mentally go over the
whole process: I lay in bed staring at the ceiling and
 imagine every step of the shooting; me taking out
the camera and choosing a lens, me moving lights,
etc. if I get stuck at some point, I know I have a pro-
blem to solve, then I figure out a way to do that and
I come up with a plan B. This is particularly helpful
when you have to transition between several sets.
Your model will need to wash her face from glitter
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before wearing a white dress and you’ll be outdoor:

did you get wipes?

It’s not going to be like this each and every time, of

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course. And experience is going to play a great part

 in being able to get a good portrait even if my hair is
on fire and my subject hates me. But being prepared

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On Photographing People: Pt. 1

gives me the luxury to make the most of the time I

will have with them. If I get the picture I want in 15
minutes and the model is there for a whole hour,
I now have at least 55 minutes to experiment and
that is exactly what I want (I’m not great at math,
but I’m quite good at pushing time limits).
__________

Coming next: Part 2: During the Shooting

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