Every photographer has experienced the gruesome distorted face of a child who has just been told to smile. Yikes! Sometimes the groom is almost as bad. Maybe the last time he was in front of a professional photographer was way back when he was a ring bearer and somehow he still remembers how to do it. Most of the clients we work with in the wedding business do not have any experience at modeling. In fact, it seems far more normal to find subjects that are shy, insecure about their appearance, and generally uncomfortable in front of the camera – at least for the first hour.

If you have a friendly personality that helps people feel at ease, most of the normal fears will disappear quickly. However finding someone who completely loosens up and acts naturally when you raise your camera is rare. The worst thing you can do to a best wedding photographycamera-shy couple is to give many specific directions about how to smile and how to hold their body. The more you do this, the more likely you are to get the same results as the child who has just been told to smile – he or she gets stiffer and stiffer. Getting over the camera-shy stage takes some time.

I like to start the wedding day shooting in the dressing rooms, because it gives me a chance to bond with the clients and for them to get comfortable being in front of the camera. During this time, I start creating a few directed pictures. Not many because you can capture most of this time in a photojournalistic style, but just a few to get them used to working purposefully in front of the camera. Occasionally, I see some fleeting movement or glance that looked beautiful and I give the bride some direction to re-create it. A few window light portraits in the dressing room can also help to break the ice.

 

Glen Johnson. Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories. Kindle Edition.

Tagged with: • •

Filed under: Creative Wedding Photography

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!