{"id":35653,"date":"2016-07-25T17:50:51","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T21:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=35653"},"modified":"2018-11-01T18:50:02","modified_gmt":"2018-11-01T22:50:02","slug":"people-skills-for-portrait-wedding-photographers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/people-skills-for-portrait-wedding-photographers\/","title":{"rendered":"People skills for portrait & wedding photographers"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

People skills for portrait & wedding photographers<\/h2>\n

The articles on the Tangents blog have focused heavily on the technical aspects of photography – lighting, posing, camera settings and such. But there is another essential ingredient for you as a photographer when you work with people – good social skills. This is invaluable – you can be a phenomenal photographer, but if you don’t quite know how to make people immediately comfortable and trust you, then the photo shoot will not be as successful.<\/p>\n

With New York\u2019s vibrant culture and the imposing architecture, it\u2019s often a destination for an elopement wedding. Connie is from Sweden. Ianina is from Argentina. They met (and live) in The Netherlands. And decided to get married in New York with an elopement wedding\u00a0at New York City Hall.\u00a0Truly international. Also, I’ve never met them before. Aside from a few emails to arrange everything, there had been no other contact.<\/p>\n

Whether you photograph headshots, or portraits or any similar type of people-related photography, this skill of making feel people relaxed around you and trust your skill as a photographer, is invaluable. How to get there? \u00a0I don’t really know – it is something I had to develop over the years. Believe it or not, I’m not naturally extrovert. However, as a photographer it became a necessary business survival skill – working with people in a nice, relaxed way.<\/p>\n

The photograph at the top is for me a great example of where I try to head towards in a photo session (or as in this case, a New York elopement wedding) – their expressions are genuine. They are really delighted to be here in New York … and they appear to be camera un-aware.<\/p>\n

Using this elopement wedding as an example, I’d like to step through some of the images – discussing\u00a0the techie stuff like camera settings<\/strong> and lighting<\/strong>, as well as posing<\/strong> – but also discuss how I worked with them and went about building up a rapport with the couple, right from the start.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In as much as you are unequivocally there as a photographer – after all, you are there with at least one camera – I feel it is best not to interject yourself in the portraits. Guide the photo session along, help people feel relaxed, but at some level, you have to be able to pull back and allow your subjects to respond to one another or their environment, in a natural at-ease way. Even if they are camera aware.<\/p>\n

I had a recent conversation with a headshots client in my studio. I started at a disadvantage because he told me right from the start how much he hated working with the previous photographer who did his headshots. The photographer was too energetic, waving his hands around, and demanding, “smile!” … all of which unsettled the person being photographed. That’s key – not to be too much, but to scale your behavior to that of your client. Unnecessary exuberance will create an \u00a0imbalance.<\/p>\n

Again, I have no idea how one would teach that to another photographer – this rests mostly on being self-aware of how you come across. Be engaging and warm, with a touch of gentle humor.<\/p>\n

Gentle humor works well. But please stay away from the clich\u00e9 photographer jokes. “Act like you like one another”, has never been funny. Never will be. In the same way, don’t rely on regular stand-by jokes. Instead, gauge your client, and work with that. The best photographers have a natural feel for this. Find it.<\/p>\n

An obvious starting point in engaging your client during and before the photo shoot, is conversation about them. Or things relating to them or the day or event. Pull it away from being about you, the photographer. It’s not a competition to\u00a0one-up the conversation with details of your life. And if it is relevant, keep it short. It’s not about you the photographer. It’s about building up that rapport, and for that, you have to weight the conversation in favor of your clients.<\/p>\n

Obvious connection points for a conversation – where did they come from, their careers, children. Anything really which would make a sustained conversation\u00a0… which can be paused (or dropped) as the photo session continues.<\/p>\n

Confidence inspires. Cockiness doesn’t. It’s often a fine line. Same with being gentle, vs being self-effacing. Your tone of voice and posture makes a difference. The way you dress. Even your handshake. Not limp. Not too hard. Just right, just like Goldilocks would’ve liked it.<\/p>\n

Be self-aware so you can modulate the way you come across. But don’t be self-conscious.\u00a0Be engaging and warm, with a touch of gentle humor. Always that.<\/p>\n

Oh, and inevitably these days, your client will most likely have an interest in photography. If they ask you about your camera gear, don’t be defensive about the equipment you have. They are just curious and want to start a conversation<\/a>. It’s not a contest. Here’s a hint, whatever camera your client has, it is always, “That’s a sweet camera! How do you like it?”<\/p>\n

I would like to hear from you, what are your observations, and what work for you? \u00a0Post your comments below. I’m sure everyone would love to know how other photographers work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related articles<\/h2>\n