What the People in Your Portraits Are DYING to Tell You
October 12, 2011 
25 Comments
The background story
A few days ago, I got a very kind email from a woman who shared an experience with me of hiring a portrait photographer and being disappointed with the photos she got from the shoot. Her letter is applicable to you as a photographer no matter whether you shoot for clients, or whether you just shoot your family and friends. The email was heartbreaking to read, so I want to share a short portion of the email with all of you so you can prevent this terrible mistake that thousands of beginning portrait photographers make every single day.
Here’s the email, but make sure to have tissues on hand before you read it. I changed it slightly for anonymity purposes. :
When this mother hired a photographer to take pictures of her with her daughter, THIS is what she wanted--a portrait that shows the love she has for her daughter
“A few years ago, my husband and I were struggling financially. I was dying to have professional pictures of my little baby taken, but I wasn’t sure how I could possibly afford it. I saved up some money, a LOT of money, so that one of the nearby, ‘Mom gone photographers,’ could capture the precious images of my 2 week old baby girl, ‘just like the ones in the magazines.’
Her website had beautiful photos on it, and she was recommended by a neighbor…so I paid the $150 sitting fee, and reluctantly agreed to the $300 minimum purchase.
Sadly…. when the proofs were uploaded….I cried. They were nothing like I had imagined they would be, and none of the poses or shots that I had told her I wanted to capture, were there.”
Heartbreaking, isn’t it? Any photographer who has any pride in their work should be riveted to this article so they can avoid making a client go through this.
What are your clients DYING to tell you?
Your photography clients are dying to tell you that they want portraits that communicate. They want lifestyle portraits. If all they wanted was a portrait of their kid sitting on a black stool in front of a grey tie-dyed background, they would have gone to Walmart. When clients go to a professional photographer, they want to receive a portrait that exemplifies what they love about the person you photographed.
The mother who takes her son to a photographer for senior portraits wants the photographer to take a picture–one instant in time–that shows who their son is. The family that hires a photographer to take pictures of their family wants the photographer to capture an image–an instant in time–that shows the love that the family members have for each other. Your neighbor who wants you to take pictures of their baby wants you to capture an image–an instant in time–that shows the tiny cute little baby in such a way that it makes anyone love the baby like the parents do.
Your clients are DYING to tell you that they want portraits that communicate. They don’t have the words to explain this, so they tell you they want a “unique portrait” or “something different” or they say they want a “really cute picture of their baby”, but what they really mean is that they want a photo that reflects how they feel about the subject, or themselves.
Wouldn't a family cherish a photo like this far more than if the photographer just stuck this teenage girl in a dress and made her pose in front of some random flower bush? This portrait COMMUNICATES volumes about the girl, and that is what the client wants the photographer to do.
Three keys to shooting communicative portraits
In general terms, the type of photography I am advocating in this article is a lifestyle portrait or any other photo that communicates something about the person. I do not pretend that more formal portraits have no place in photography, but I would say that most clients I have worked with want something more.
Key #1: Know your subject. Not surprisingly, the key to taking portraits that communicate is to get to know your subject before the shoot. I usually see beginning professional photographers skip this step. They book a shoot and then show up to take the person’s picture. Most experienced professionals go one step further. One crucial step that sets their work apart from the amateurs–the client meeting. Either face to face or over the phone, the photographer discusses the shoot with the client for 20 minutes before the day of the shoot. This time is critical because it allows the photographer to assess what type of portrait the client will like, what their personality is, and what the photos will be used for.
Skip the client meeting at your peril. It takes more of your time, but I guarantee it will dramatically improve your shoots. If you are pressed for time (who isn’t?) you can develop your own system to get the information you need about a client without spending the time to meet. A simple online survey could be enough to help.
By the end of a client meeting, you should know (1) what the client loves, (2) the client’s personality, (3) how the pictures will be used, (4) and what type of portrait the client appreciates.
As a parent, I would be SO much happier getting a portrait like this from the photographer than a dull photo of my kid sitting on a bar stool nearly in tears from being forced to endure a portrait photo shoot.
Key #2: Shoot in a setting conducive to the client’s tastes. Most photographers have a bad habit of repeatedly shooting in the same locations. They simply find a nice park or garden and then shoot every client there until they think of a new spot. But what if your senior portrait client LOVES karate? Since we are no longer going to stick her in a dress and force her to pose in front of a rose bush, you will need to find a location that matches the shot.
If the client loves karate, you could take dramatic portraits of the high school senior doing jump kicks at a freeway underpass. If your client is a mother who wants portraits of her baby, you could set up a warm studio with all the perfect props to bring out the cuteness of the little baby. If your client is an engaged couple who works 12 hour days in New York City, you might want to have them dress up in business clothes and do more of an urban shot of them walking around the city together.
Your clients are not numbers. They are people. They want to be photographed in a setting that is attractive and familiar to them.
For a client who wants something more traditional, you don't have to do anything crazy. This simple portrait is traditional, but it still COMMUNICATES volumes about the woman's warm, easy-going personality.
Key #3: Expression is king. Sometimes it isn’t the location or the props that communicates–it is the personality. Suppose a mother comes to you and asks you to take pictures of her daughter. In the client meeting, you notice that the 9 year old girl is adorably sassy and “grown up.” You might not have to travel to any creative location to capture this unique aspect of her personality. You just need to know how to work with her during the shoot to make the personality come out. For instance, you could ask her if she wants to do some ridiculous, made-up pose. If the pose is silly and she is a sassy little girl, don’t you think her expression will be perfect when she answers the question? Be ready to snap the photos FAST!
The more you practice taking portraits, the more you will see that expressions are easy to capture if you are creative in how you approach the situation.
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I found this article to be a wonderful read. It solidifies some of the principles that I believe to be true, and it make me really think about trying new techniques. Knowing the client is so very important. The best reward for me, as a photographer, is the response from a client when they truely love their pictures.
I hope you keep more articles like these coming! =)
@Ashley, I’m in the same boat. However, like Jessica said, you have to trust your gut. It sounds like you aren’t in it for the money, you want to produce quality work. I think you’re in a good headspace to do what you love and profit while doing it. =)
@Emily Southerland, GREAT advice, thank you! I’m looking in to those suggested fourms RIGHT now.
Bonjour,
I’m just asking one thing when I take a photo of someone, a portrait, is it a story in this portrait. I’d rather do a photo when they’re doing something…
But I do more nature photo…
One bad portrait sitting is the kick in the rump I needed to learn how to really use my DSLR and manipulate my space to achieve the photos I wanted.
After we had taken our daughter for her three month photos, looking at the 10 images to choose from… I was disappointed… And vowed to take my own pictures at six months… I’m so glad I did. I’m proud to show off her six month photos and years down the road I can tell her that I took those pictures of her!
It’s like this post has been bouncing around in my head, but I’ve been unable to express it as well as you have. You have articulated it so well – mad props for to you.
Steven
Excellent points and a good reminder.
I strive for this type of image every time I’m hired, BUT sometimes it’s also the people involved. Recently I was at a client’s home to photograph a newborn with the mom, dad and 4 year old. OH MY GOSH. Even after taking time bonding with the little girl, she was bouncing around, pouting, insisting on her way and finally tripped and hurt herself enough that the was the end of the session.
All right. I loved all of the tips that this article shared, and it was nice to know about all this. But frankly, I thought the author was very rude and downgrading on how it was written. I felt like a two year old with an angry preschool teacher talking down at me for coloring outside of the lines. This article basically told me that every time I have had a client pose in a garden in a pretty dress that meant nothing to them, I was doing it wrong, even when I got fantastic portraits that the senior and their parents adored. Or telling the five year old I was photographing to sit on his kitchen counter while I made him giggle for the portrait. Honestly photos of a karate kid under an overpass? Those are frankly quite old in my book. They look more posed and “unnattural” than a girl sitting next to a “random flower bush” and those kids I sit on a stool next to a gorgeous window with natural light that catches their hair and makes their eyes sparkle are “practically in tears from being forced to endure a portrait shoot.” I know I might be coming off as rude myself but next time word things a little better. The people I feel this article was written for are professionals who already have a steady flow of clients, and who know their way around portraits and their camera and studio, and I feel like this was degrading and down-talking and basically telling me everything I was doing was boring because instead of taking photos of my senior in her cheerleading costume waving around pom poms, I had her dress up nice and have fun with her makeup and hair and have her pose in the park.
I strive representing this type of image all stage I’m hired, BUT every so often it’s furthermore the fill with involved. Recently I was next to a client’s interior to photograph a newborn with the mom, dad and 4 day old. OH MY GOSH. Even in the same way as taking stage bonding with the little girl, she was bouncing around, pouting, insisting on her way and to finish tripped and hurt herself an adequate amount to facilitate the was the top of the session.
Oooff…well said article…still recuperating or healing from terrible photo shoots of the past that I did…There must be some support group somewhere for that..?? Good gosh…help! Lol