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Posing: Family of 5

Nice to be to go away. I knew that already. Okay. And nice to meet you. And then these guys. Hi, what's. Your name my time, tio? Yes, exactly. Can you do to me, dear brother? Miles? Ok, I'm going to myself high. Ok, so a couple of days has happened. They're meaningful family for the first time, I haven't instant sense of what I'm going experience with this boy for the photo shoot, right? Do you have an instant sense of what your experience? But I don't know if you noticed we're talking about doing a lot of nearing in terms of showing people how to pose and stuff what I also did. There was exactly near his energy. So when I met mom and her oldest daughter, it was really kind of calm. It's, nice to meet you. Lovely to meet you, he goes, I'm miles and I said, uh, you know, you just immediately give it back, and what you're gaining there is an immediate connection. He may think that you're goofy, but he also knows that your game for whatever is happening, he doesn't feel like you're going ...

to be super serious or important or shutting things down. The other thing that happened is I asked something of them, and he immediately said no like a quick rejection injures me. Your brother know somebody walks away. I can go one of two ways with this. I could. Either comment really feel like that's. Weird because I asked the question he was really rude to me, and this is gonna be disrespectful. And now this is gonna be a tougher shoot, or I could just not even think anything of it and just keep going and actually give it very, very little power. Because it's playful, that silly on dh have it be something that's even a joke that we do throughout the shooting. I use it to my advantage. Does that make sense? So by letting it roll off completely, some of the big barriers and family photography is people feel intimidated with certain personality types or they feel like they don't know what to do if somebody especially I hear this a lot with portrait photographers, especially in families where the father seems to either not want to be there or is not into it. I'd rather be playing call we had that? Yes today where he shows up, but he's saying I'd rather be doing something else. Well, then you now have to put yourself in the position of making sure that you build that connection if it's not showing up. Andi will get it, but you have to put the effort into focus into it. So same thing with kids if they're going to be like that, you just kind of bring it right back. Hey, nice to be two miles would not introduce us. Wasn't that road? I heard you have a hat? Yeah, you've got, like, creates, like things in your hair. All right, you guys ready to take a photograph? All right. And note about two things. I when I went over and he had a bunch of little leaves in his hair and I just plucked him out, I will do that all the time. I think that's totally fine to do. You may want to say, do you mind if I delete you? You know, the other thing is we saw this vote on the side just sitting there on the lake and it clearly belong to somebody because their stuff was inside of it. We just decided to use it for the shot and keep a look out to see if they were coming back. And I'll help you things like that. I'm not going to sell it on ebay. I'm not going to disturb it or living, going to lean up against it, it makes for a great accessory to the shoot. If there's a way to do that that's not actually destructive or rude or anything and if people came up and said a what to do with my boat I'd be like oh my goodness it was amazing to get some of you on it something like that I have never had a problem doing this of course I've never had an extreme case I wouldn't go up to somebody's car and most people want top of it but it will do think little fun things like this all the time if I think it's going to make for a significantly cooler shot so this is something we just found at the scene right here and then we'll have you sit on the edge of it like this write it well to start with the family shot like this and you can tell everybody that your new canoe is this a canoe or kayak it's a cognac so let's have you guys in the middle and I'm literally thinking sit on the edge of a boat like this and then kind of lean forward we'll adjust you a little bit but just something like that hee hee I know right? Okay so little head got good news could this shoot is that no kids are in trouble for anything they dio who's okay chloe okay you can't go swimming you can't get so I have so much in your hair yeah that's fine the you guys hear that whole buyin, I do that for every family shoot just so you know, we're going to and I phrase it differently every time, but I convey the message that we're going to let the kids do whatever they want, and then I get there by him, and I really do I stop to make sure everybody's ok with it, and they've decided because now what that's given me is carte blanche throughout the rest, the shoot to turn to them and say, we already agreed on this. We're already done with this issue, so if you've had those photo shoots with, the parents seem to be very upset with their children, telling them to stop that don't do that anything. If you have that discussion ahead of time and you have an exchange again before anybody's doing wrong before you have actually tested, you, make sure you've got the bite and you get the agreement and then unit now have that for the rest of time, and people ask me if how many times I have that happen and it's I have it happened, but it never sticks and never stays because people grieve, and I've never asked people front if they're ok with it and had them say absolutely not because they do we have a different issue. Um the other thing and from a design perspective as I pulled those those little wars in front I thought they looked cooler and one thing I want you to think about when you're looking at this shoot is look at the backdrop behind us we have this beautiful scene but we have super bright light hitting really light branches and it's going to be a hot spot and so I needed make sure I'm shooting in a way that is I can't I can't run over there and flagged the half hot spot I want to shoot right here but I know I need to keep my exposure under enough control and raw that I can go and burn that down but I mean like darken the super brightness behind them in a way that makes the image something that I want to deliver and I'll show you exactly what to do with that I'm with that beautiful all right so we're switching really tight in yeah and then did you can you go up yes all right further in yeah and then you're going to go like your needs are going to face that way okay if you guys fall I don't have a backup plan so fall right do they ever screwed your arm in here on this chloe a month there we go but let's take it in like that and then lean for this whole check yes that's perfect all right, we'll do. The silvery flack store might have to twenty four to thirty five one four be awesome for this thank you are you guys look amazing tell me what's going on here what's going on with this it's really, really cute but also it's very strange we looked yesterday itself consciousness this subject where she's giving the fake smile but trying hard versus not he's trying hard to deliver it smell but it's not at all him s o I'm going to meet address it right before we start so I can keep hitting it as we go and knock it down instead of trying to struggle through it and get a bunch of shots that I won't use that that was ever does that hurt? You know you can't smile you're smiling right now I can't smile I'm no good at uh what is he like? Five s o we talked about those agreements we make right the four agreements he's already agreed somewhere whether he looked in the mirror once or someone said something to him or whatever that he can't smile he's no good he's got to present this so my whole goal with him is to give him some technique to knock him out of that for the rest of shoot on dh er and I just think he verbalize is what a lot of people would never verbalize my smiles. No good. I can't do this or whatever. I released mine when I walked up. You were smiling crazy. And you're really good at it. Yeah, yeah. So how about this? How about this trial, huh? That's it like that it's. Perfect. So if you want to, you could you could make a whole bunch of noises, like, another time you can go. Yeah, and then you just got to come up with a whole bunch of you run out of noises. They're going to get used to help. I could give you some. Your family can give you some like we're gonna have a whole think you were gonna have a whole range of noises. They're going to come your way. So let's, try so the light is coming here and then so maybe yeah, let me try. We try some real quick so they were how we talked about sometimes it could be ever had. Sometimes the bounce is actually completely to the side, which is seems counterintuitive. But you see how right now, there's. No bounce here. This bounce let's try. Same thing over here. You can get bounce from different areas, but that's kind of our best one right there and then the point I want to clarify when I say you get bounce from different areas, what I mean is we have reflections coming from all over. We've got the main light, but we've got a lot of light where it's hitting the water and reflecting back on us and the best way to think about how to get the bounce or the phil light that you want from a reflector is to consider the solid truth that light travels in a straight line. Light always travels in a straight line, so it's coming directly in from this main light source, which is the sun, but I'm also getting this other light source coming at me, which is the fun coming here hitting the water coming back so I can now move that reflector in a couple different positions and get different strengths of bounce. But I have options to use, and one might be more preferable in the other it's not always the obvious choice, which is bouncing it off of the main light of the sun. You could even try, um, and and the nice thing right here with this shot is we're right there, very low to the ground, and we have this nice light concrete, gravelly thing and like a light gray sidewalk, is one of my favorite reflector sources. And so we're getting some that bounce were getting some from the silver around the canoe on dh mostly what I'm thinking about is catch light and I look everybody's eyes all that looks like it hurts again we're gonna have to let's do new stats are that's a good one? Use that one next time all right, everybody looks fabulous and I'm gonna be shooting at probably like a one thousand s o which seems like it might be a lot for out here but we're in a little bit of a deeper shade than you might think that lights dropped pretty far behind those trees but this is definitely back light because the way the light's bouncing behind them they are backlit even though it might not appear that obvious so I'm gonna shoot with a spot me during option and uh I'm just do a couple test shots this work on expression what was that you just did that's what I thought you just did all right, we're going to ignore the ducks behind you because they really want in the shot that you're different today. All right? All right let's try the noise right on the count three you're going to like that? Not yet, okay one two not everybody although I did like that way by doing that we change his expression the right if you saw the image before he was doing that kind of solid state look, remember I said we went into the segment, I knew we were gonna have a super bright light behind him. I knew that going, and I am going to show you how he burned that down. But it's something I'm conscious up as we're shooting and making sure I'm keeping my exposure at a level where those aren't gone for me and I connect and burn that down and control the scene. So the attention is on them, by the way, yet another family that just responded to an open call that isn't a professional model family like just gorgeous, uh, that's, not the same noise. All right, I'm gonna shoot a little wider because I'm on the thirty five I know I'm going to get some of the reflector in the piece, but I don't mind cropping a little bit later and post, and I'm gonna do that knowingly because I want the frame and I want to keep this lens and I need the bounce of her closer didn't never reset the silver real quick. Reset the reflector it's super super easy with a light draft of light to lose the reflection so let's, try again for that good remind me your name mukai with high chi chi that's going to my sound, just that with the reflector real quick and let's throw in video light yet it's just a little more in the friend that I want what did in trip in little duck all right you guys stay good um do you want to jump on your lap a few times now look I yes that beautiful and the focus catch light top top dinner good here we go and everybody down closer my old them I'm afraid for you that expression of the left oh my god I don't think I even saw that when I shot it ok maybe not while I'm afraid for you didn't they like this huh just for a second and when I say crazy faced into crazy base but first just to relax relax face first yeah all right you guys stay with me, eh? I'm oliver miles you guys are off the job right now you just have to look adorably beautiful yeah, what I said but not yet right now we're just doing calm face ready this is pompous okay and companies no no that's not come out where you are and good no no no no no no let's do duckface come on if you have instagram you know what I'm talking about you d'oh that one came pretty naturally back there ah no face make your face go away excellent bringing back all right go tighter in and they go a bit higher and then directed down yes thank you I know that it's not using good okay you chew on the end come to me real quick come here just for a second let's get one of you through a quick and then you're gonna jump in freddie oh and don't go go don't go you're in you're in go back to where you were okay do me a favor lean forward a little bit yeah and then leans over like other shoulder like that yet okay the kid dad fine it's going to be him I like that better actually good all right miles you are so right do you see what I did there in terms of shifting the pose for dad I just I really like the heat as soon as I call the kids out he put his arms around his girls which is really sweet but I want to be able to position him in a way that is as flattering as possible and by shifting into that it's a pronounce of difference on dh your constant looking at every single person making sure that I am position you in the way that is most flattering to you and not forgetting about you because I'm so much looking at these other people and it's a lot I mean you guys feel it's me photograph families right there are a lot of moving parts of second I got a natural smile from mukai I've got miles miles in the end, right? I've got him going nutty face and soon they get him calm down I've gotta change impose and so I've gotta re flatter you're just constantly that's that's redo redo and this is how I will do it this is the building where I know I'm gonna get that and not get these air right out of camera what I'm getting I actually like this with you guys like this every but you guys are awesome three of the ad fantastic mom and dad you're look towards each other and say hello clearly but yeah a little more baritone hello chloe how you do it closer to each other hello by the way look at what happened ah crazy base on the end he's engaged he thinks it's funny he's interested I'm getting that natural smile that I have to fight forward to try to get when he's facing directly at the camera hey chloe which I stop it sweetie look I just beautiful bit of good actually I don't even know what you're doing with your face and so there's so much happening here all right let me show you that shot when I burned down that background which is how I would present it tio my clients just so you can better see what I'm talking about this is that this is how I would do it so I want to add just a boost of toning I would go ahead and burn down that background if this were a printed file I'm going in, I'm doing little retouch everywhere and all its your stuff, but I don't want the super super bright I don't mind it being a little bright, but I don't want so bright that I can't see my subjects so that's something I'm gonna make sure you pay attention to. All right? Let's, take a break for questions free the boat that was very good. All right, all right. We have a question here. Yeah, I mean, in your real life application, you're showing a bunch of different techniques in this workshop, but I mean, just watching this, I loved what happened with the natural light, you know? And you know, I'm with reflector it was it was beautiful, it was gorgeous, but it was, and I find this being one of my biggest challenges is not usually have assistant with me all the time it's a mom and we just can't get it right, and I just can I defer to speed like, you know her don't just to make sure you get the pop and I watched you there yet so many more shots off with the video light versus the reflectors that how you really is that work for you a very good question, the idea about working with an assistant, I feel like a lot of the shooter's think the idea of working with assistant sounds like a big expense a lot, a lot of difficulty, that's that's kind of a whole nother level that maybe I don't want to take on for whatever reason, maybe I don't want to coordinate with somebody maybe I don't wantto maybe it's, not necessary, whatever it is, I shot for nine years, maybe total, maybe nine years, hardly ever ever having assistant and the only assistance I had was from parents on dh. What I found is some techniques for that, which we'll talk about a second thea other, the other thing that I would do is get really good at balancing and holding the reflector. And I know I've shown that in previous classes and that's literally like kind of a yoga, putting it, they're bouncing and share put it somewhere else. What you have to do in that case is you've got a reflector solidly in place if you're wedging it across something, but you need to make sure your family doesn't move much, and so you've got some limitations there when I when I am in a situation where I'm instructing the parents, the mom or the dad or somebody to hold the reflector I would put in more time than just hold this, I would say let me tell you what we're going for, like a mini education, I want to get catch lightning eyes, I want to make sure that's really easy with the system and see if you can take a deep breath and hold it and you know, you spend a few minutes and then when you re set, you need to set it up again and show them the spot remind them those things again going over that a few times is very helpful. However, when it comes to doing the family photograph, I'm not as likely to call somebody up the street to come hold a reflector and now and that's usually when you need it the most, because you've got a lot more that you've got to be able to manage in terms of things going on, expert exposure and catch lightened everything. So what I started doing was using an assistant here and there, and I was blown away by how much easier the chutes were, how much better the shots were, what I could deliver my sales average the impact on my sales efforts because I had that many more good images to deliver, and across the board, everything improved my shooting experience was more fun for me, I wasn't sweating and crazy and holding and grabbing and trying to I was just shooting, directing and shooting s o that was my one big takeaway and probably the biggest one. If you haven't heard me say it a million times, enjoying yourself on the shoot is the best way to get the shots where it looks like people are enjoying themselves on a chute. Number two is what I found having an assistant is that ends up giving you a look like your common here to do tio to do a job, and you've got some planning, and your clients perceive that as a level of quality, they really d'oh. The third thing I found is that from the perspective of having when you have the clients hold the reflector this and that I don't I've never had anybody be upset about it, but it is nice to have them completely off the clock and just to relax and to interact and play, and that way they're just more enjoying it, and you are, in essence, putting them to work again. I never had negative feedback about it, and you could even argue that maybe there, buying into it a little bit more of their part of the process of image making, but say it costs. Teo, ten dollars an hour to hire assistant or fifteen dollars an hour, depending on your market where you are, do you think with an effortless shoot in terms of like, yeah, that's effort, but I'm not having to do all of it so there's significantly less effort while I'm physically shooting and the ups upsizing of the quality of the image is being able to present better images and show them and sell them better that you could make that twenty or thirty dollars back, I have found it to be extraordinarily true, thie other thing to keep in mind is interns. We were right in chapel hill, north carolina, where it between unc and duke and we've had a steady philip interns for the last decade, plus and interns come in, they want they want a shopping, they want to see what you're doing, they want to shoot with you, they want to get some hints on day, I'll do that happily for free, it's it's a good experience for them on dive shot with a number of different interns photo assistance that work in my studio, so in that regard, there are a lot more available to people to get assistance, I think you might think, and honestly, I think if your first thought at the idea of hiring assistant is this I thought that comes in that says that's not for me or that sounds easier for you or I've got all these barriers I really encourage you to take a look at that because what I just did when you break that down those barriers you're just creating for yourself that is going to stop you from having a better experience and delivering better work so it's easy enough to say, well, I just don't do that I've got to do on my own but it's a really nice path toe work around and will improve the whole of what you d'oh just a follow up on that even if even if you do have ah assistant how far do you push the reflector using the natural light versus say I give up and I'm going to go to artificial it depends on what I'm seeing when the lights dropping like I said, this was more backlit and I wanted a wider shot and it was hard to get the bounce I needed from a reflector for for five people having my assistant back up so much out of the shot so I could get the wide that I could no longer rely on the reflector in that case I had to bring in more video or strobe pro photos would've been great there too because I could put him in a backpack and hiked on in and just had somebody hold him yeah