The more people I photograph, the more I’ve come to realize something: a great portrait is a collaboration between photographer and subject.
When both are working together the result is far more than what comes
from direction alone. Our subjects often aren’t experienced in having
their photo taken, and don’t know a lot about the process.
The number one thing I always
start out with when I meet a new client is to explain my style and what
to expect from me and what I expect from them; as well as any others
they may have with them, as many have spouses, management team, wardrobe
stylists, hair and makeup team etc. I encourage them to be themselves... talk, move, and most importantly, relax
and have fun! The shoot is often quite nerve wracking for folks, so the
more information I can give them the more comfortable and confident
they’ll feel.
Below are the top five things to keep in mind as you make your plans:
- What are photos to be used for?
- Headshots for business and promotion?
- Family photography for framing and enlargement?
- Live performance photography?
- Websites for social media and / or business?
There
are countless uses, but know what your end results “could be” this
makes a world of difference on the “look” we will encourage out of you
to achieve the goals.
- Do you have a location in mind or examples of others you like?
- Do not ever hesitate to share ideas of looks you like – just like a
haircut you see in a magazine, yours will never be “exactly” like the
one you saw, but we strive to give you the feel and style with
personalization to make it uniquely you!
- We will gladly help “scout” a location for you and chances are we
have some in mind but knowing item one will give us a lot of ideas on
what might works best to achieve what you want the photographs for.
- Are you planning on using props? (guitars, hats, special items to compliment the location or the reason for the photograph)
- We strongly encourage you to have items in your photographs to make
them more “you” and more “personal”... and if you are using the
photographs for a promotional reason, regardless if it is just you or
for your business, is there a tie in or theme you need to keep in mind
or something you can bring along that might really bring a special
meaning to the photo?
- Discuss and show us the props you have and what they mean to you.
Are you wanting the prop to be something you are singing about on the
title cut of your CD? Did the item belong to someone special to you? The
more we know, the more creative we will be able to be.
- Clothing!
- Think ahead on what you want to wear. It is usually one of the
biggest challenges. But laying out your clothes and including all
accessories, shoes, socks, hats, whatever you need and packing it
accordingly will ensure you are photo ready.
- How many different looks are you hoping to photograph – we love it
when we have more to work with than one outfit... different colors and
textures create a new you, and a new feel.
- Keeping all the above in mind, give yourself time to achieve all you hope to capture.
- Rushing and squeezing too much into a short session will only
frustrate you. You know how much you enjoy getting photos taken – so
keep in mind your tolerance level as well – if you are not wanting to be
there, it will show. We want happy customers. Some individuals will
stay all day, all week! They love posing, changing looks... and that is
not easy either... so set a goal on a time frame as this helps everyone
achieve the best session possible.
For a limited time, we are offering a free photo shoot to artists who record a full CD project with us! More INFO on our KCPartners promotion page.
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