Photographing People: Ten Tips for Images With Impact
ScotteVest customers are some of the most active travelers on the planet. Why else buy rugged, well-designed clothes with umpteen strategically located pockets, right?
As a ScotteVest customer myself— and a professional photojournalist— I’m often asked how to capture the essence of the cultures we visit, that is, their people. “How do you do it? Do you have any tips?” Well, yes, I do have some tips on photographing people and here they are:
1. Get Permission. It’s a matter of civility, pure and simple, to ask for permission to photograph. Permission doesn’t have to be a signed release form if the image will not be published. It can be a gesture— pointing to your camera and to the subject and shrugging your shoulders. In Muslim countries in particular, photographing women without permission can get you in serious trouble. At the very least you owe it to your subject to give her a chance to cover her face.
2. Get a Picture, Give a Print. Send a print to the subject once you get home or else bring one with you on your next visit to the country.
3. Be patient. Often it is only after 10 minutes of shooting that the subject relaxes enough for that unguarded, classic shot.
4. Get to Know Your Subject. Before you hoist your camera, ask about the craft your subject might be exhibiting. Ask about her family; it’s the universal glue that binds us.
5. Shoot Early. Shoot early in the morning, when merchants set up their market stalls, when farmers hoist their produce from cart to table, when kids scurry to help their parents or scurry away from helping them.
6. Tell a Story. Shooting ‘tight’ conveys emotion and creates dramatic impact. You do not need the entire person’s body in the image, at times not even the entire face. A child’s face from chin to forehead, lips streaked in chocolate, can be a prizewinner.
7. Use Flash. At certain times of the day light is harsh and creates deep shadows. Use flash to gently fill in those shadows.
8. Laugh…a Lot. That frame of mind alone will loosen up your subjects and help them be more cooperative.
9. Move Around. Talk to your subjects and shoot from different angles. Digital is wonderful. Did the person blink? Keep shooting. Was the background distracting? Move and keep shooting.
10. Shoot Wide Open. If the person is the focus of your image, open up the aperture to its maximum (f2.0, 2.8, 3.5 or 4.0). That will blur the background and cause your subject to pop off the frame.
Always remember that you are a good-will ambassador. Act accordingly.
Lester Picker is a professional photojournalist whose work has appeared in National Geographic publications, Forbes, Better Homes & Gardens, Oceans, and dozens of other publications and websites. He welcomes questions here or at his blog at: http://blog.lesterpickerphoto.com
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