I was critiquing portraits in my beginning photography class today. A lot of the students weren’t too happy that I was asking them to take their portraits to the next level.

Just putting your subject in nice light and having decent composition, doesn’t make a great portrait.

The next level includes creating a connection between photographer and subject that allows the viewer to catch a glimpse of the subject’s soul. The real person in the image.

The first image on the left was one of the first images that I took of this boy.

He has the nice fake smile that a lot of people accept when taking photos of their loved ones. Too many beginning photographer place their subjects in good light and compose somewhat interesting images, but they forget to create that atmosphere where the photographer can capture a piece of the subject’s soul.

The image on the right is a lot more telling. I love the little smirk on the subject’s face. The image is a true representation of this boy, on this day at this stage of his life.

Here’s another example.

My subject started out as a shy and a bit self-conscience.

The image here isn’t bad, it just doesn’t say anything.

Again, too many photographers stop at this point.

How can you create this situation where you can catch a glimpse of the subject’s soul?

Here’s a few tips to break the ice and relax your subjects:

1. Talk to them. Ask them about their interests, about the weather, about anything to get them to forget about the very large camera in front of their face.

2. Make them laugh. Tell them a joke, usually, even if it’s bad it will create a reaction.

3. Tell people not to smile. A lot of times the can’t help but smile after this request.

4. Say nothing. Let them start to talk. I’ve found that sometimes subjects will start to talk and can’t stop. It can be great.

5. Distract them. Do anything to get the subject to forget that you are there to photograph them.

Create an atmosphere or situation for your subjects that will relax them

to capture the true essence of your subject or steal a piece of their soul.

Be inspired.

I photographed seven seniors for their yearbook recently at the Fullerton Train Station. I’d like to share a few tips about Senior Portraits and photographing groups of people.

The first image shows life, fun and action. Without something for your subjects to do, you end up with a bunch of subjects standing around trying to look cool(even though they are).

Let’s see if we can find a better situation for our teens.

Finally, we have our last image…
I choose to show how a static pose can actually work. The inside of the pedestrian bridge works to enclose our subjects and draw the viewer’s eyes to the group. I carefully placed each subject where the camera could see them and asked everyone to stare directly at the camera to achieve a more confrontive pose.
The result is a cool and somewhat aloof image.

The next time you have a larger group to photograph, try having them do something to achieve an image that has action and great expressions. Enjoy!

In this image we have the jumping into the future etc. pose. The area really had busy backgrounds. I tried to use as wide open a depth of field as possible, achieving a very shallow depth of field. Or to clarify further, as little of the background is in focus as possible. Jumping in unison is sometimes the hardest part of this pose. Fortunately, this day the seniors were in rare form and jumped together.

The next image shows the guys. You can never go wrong asking boys to show how strong they are or to show off. I asked them to jump on each others backs and stay there as long as possible. A great pose with great expressions!

Moving on…..
How about choosing the tallest or smallest person in the group and doing something interesting with them?
Here I choose the tallest boy and had the entire group, or the majority of them, hold him up. It works for good expressions and the pose looks good, too.

The next pose or idea was to change my point of view. Having your subject lie down changes everything. The viewers perspective changes as does the perception of your subjects. It really is an all-around winning situation.