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Segment 21 - Senior Session Q&A

is there Certain images that, you know the mothers are going are like the parents I gravitate towards versus the senior. Yeah, I mean, I already covered. I just wouldn't You know, I can definitely speak to that again because I'm definitely looking at poses that will track both. I'm looking for some smiles for the mom. I'm looking for maybe more non smiley poses for the girls. Because I know they tend to like that more. I'm trying to give a variety so that both people are happy. Remember earlier when we showed the shoot that we did the other day at the beach and we had a me laying down with her feet up that Postant always go over well with Mom. So I will pick that one earlier on the roof when we had kindred do like more of a model Lee posed like this. That is probably going to be something Maybe maybe the senior would like more. And I don't always pull out that pose. Mind you again. It goes back to no one. The client. I knew Kendra could pull it off because she's a dancer and she's used...

to moving and her outfits or a spoke to that sort of style. So I did that. But I don't always do that. You've got to read the client also, If maybe I made somebody do that pose. But I saw that she was a little bit awkward in it. I may not have said that on the shoot, because I don't want her to feel bad, but I probably didn't choose that when I was calling, you know? So it's all about reading your clients. Remember in the session, Remember? What? Remember what they kind of got into a little bit more. I'm gonna pull those, but also just pulling a variety so that you can get something both mom and daughter like, So make sure you get some smiley poses. Make sure you get some non smiley poses. Make sure you get, you know, everything a little bit of everything. A little bit of variety so that you are attractive, but a good rule of thumb for my parents that they generally are gonna love their daughter Smiling. Yeah, So I know that the mom's probably gonna like that a lot if this is going to be what you thought she would like more or the mama like more. I think they probably both would like this image. I think it kind of gives a little bit of an edge, which I think might be interesting to Kendra. But I think she's smiling. She looks happy, so I think that's gonna be the mom's gonna like it. There's not a lot of images that Mom's absolutely hate and daughters absolutely love. There might be images that they have a tiny bit of difference of opinion on the mom's favorite might not be the daughter's favorite, but for the most part, they like, you know, they like the same images. It's just whether or not the mom would probably pick a smile over a non smile or, you know, they do want to remember their little girl. I mean anything, like some moms have a problem with the fact that their child is growing up. I can't even imagine when mine gets to be that age. But, you know, I remember that and try to give them supposes that maybe don't look as mature, but obviously a year old wants to be 21. I'm sure. Maybe that I mean you don't really want him to look that way. But maybe you may may do a few that kind of make them feel like they are, you know, specific that you would do to, like, change. That's where you're opposing her. She doesn't look 22 like, Is there specific? Well, I think that a lot of things have to do with, you know, like if she's dressed in a way that might be a little more mature, maybe you make sure she's laughing in that photo. Or, you know, things like that can kind of counter act one thing over the other, and and that will help you keep them their age on again. Like I say, not throwing somebody in some top model pose that they're not comfortable with because that's going to make them look older and more high fashion, which is really not what this is. I mean, it's supposed to be their personality, so make sure you stick to poses that kind of really represent that seniors personality as well. But I do think if they have on something that's a little more Glink M, maybe you cut that with a lot of laughter, have fun and do that kind of thing. So that way it camera acts. Not looking too. Uh, you don't want him looking too sexy you don't want I'm looking to old. Just keep that in mind and, you know, if you shoot it and you get back in your life Oh, if you have that reaction, don't pick it, because I promise you they will. I will tell you one time I had a senior and I had the girl just kind of prop up on some steps like this and she wasn't smiling. But there was nothing sexy about it to me that the mom made a comment like, Oh, she wasn't smiling. And I think the mom just wasn't used to seeing her smile. So I always keep that in mind now because I'm like, Oh, okay. I never would have thought that, but let me make sure that I, you know, give her gives him smiling photos for moms that maybe aren't used to seeing their daughter, you know, with a a more sultry look. I guess if you will, that's not really what I was going for. But that was her reaction to it. So keep that in mind. you know, moms love a smile. You can't You can't go wrong with a genuine smile. You can't go wrong with a genuine emotion. So that's a good quote. Go wrong. We get out while and you can't go wrong with a genuine emotion. That's right like that. Leslie thoughts up here. Can I know? I know it's curly hair it all up there, and it's just gonna come out and inspiring quotes. All right, let's take another question. And this one is from Lindsey Wilson Photo, and it's got a couple of votes on it as well. If a poser hope it doesn't work out and you call out those images, do you ever have clients asking you, like, What about that pose? What about that image? Right Happen, and if so, what? He said it has happened in the past. I haven't had it happened any time recently. In fact, the time that six out of my head is not even a senior photo shoot. But I'll tell you just because it it relates to that subject. But I had a family who wanted me to pose them around a tree, and I hate posing around the tree that they wanted each started Peek out from the 31 on the side and one on a list that I know like, Oh, Lord, please don't let me do that. Um and so I tried on the session. Oh, you know, the lighting's really not good right here. It would look less because tree has speckle lighting and it's just all dappled, and it's just Oh, please, just take it. Just take it. Just take it. Just take it. All right? So finally had to give in because they were just insistent on it. So I took this awful picture on I got it home and I was like, I'm not editing that thing. I refused to edit that thing is awful and never would oppose them that way on dso I didn't. And then sure enough, Mom, remember that tree pose and where was it? And I was like, Well, it really just didn't turn out, you know, again, I tried it because you wanted me to, but as I predicted, it did have some bad lighting. And, um, you know, three girls had shadows all over their faces and there really wasn't anything I could do toe change that. And so it just really took some convincing. I think she still wanted it, but I just like it just didn't work out. So, you know, you can again. You're the professional. You are you I have to tell them reasons and be able to explain why don't ever said watch like that one. I mean, in the main like you can't do that. You have to give them a professional reason why it may not have worked. Andi just say, you know, really like some others. Better I say to them, I picked the best of the best. Said they know that. You know, maybe there wasn't anything wrong with the one they're thinking of that. They're just with somebody that we're better on. And usually they're okay with that answer. You are in charge. If you set it up the way I haven't where you edit them and only show them the ones you edit. They are trusting you to pick out the best of the best. And so I'll say something like, Well, you know, maybe your eyes were closed or call you in between a smile and you had, you know, you know, because you do you catch them. And half I closed up a pirate look or you know, when you're taking photos, so s so I just explain it that way and again, it goes back to building that relationship in that trust, and and once you give them a good reason, they believe you, and they understand, and they usually move on. If you have somebody insistent on it, then you may have to judge whether you're going to give in to them or not. Maybe you don't post that one or anything like that If it's not when you personally think is your best work or for whatever reason, you didn't really want to. But maybe if they are insistent, you got away the cons and pros and cons of making the client happy versus, you know, your artistic eye. But for the most part of you, explain to them that you're you know, you're the photographer. You you know you've done this. You know what looks good? What doesn't. So you picked out the best of the best. They're usually good with that. Awesome. Thank you. Would you do anything more to this image? I mean, I would Yeah, this'd the way I do it. I know that's not a ton of steps. Yeah, there's plenty you could do depending on your style. This is This is the way I do it. This is my style. This is what I like again. I like a bright image. I like the color coming through to me. She pops, That's that. Yeah. This is what I would do it again, though it's your styles that maybe you'd want it a little bit darker little unit less exposed or whatever. That's totally up to you. But that's exactly what I would do with that image. Do you have any tips or secrets that you use to get them to Dio and on the smiling face? Like when I ask, they deadeye or they are like, trying so hard not to smile that. Then you just skip that with that girl out. Yeah, I mean, definitely girls. Some girls do it better than others. I don't do it well myself, So I get it. I can't imagine not smiling. But you want to get some non smileys right again. Reading your client is very important because some girls have a really cute closed mouth smile. But not everybody does. So Pay attention to that. And if you see it's not working, maybe you do something a little bit different. But for non Smiley posed, I always ask them if they ever watch America's next top model. And almost every one of them says yes. And so they almost all know what surmising is. I personally can't surmise, but they know what I'm talking about when I say it s so I say, You know, we want you not to smile with your mouth. Think about something happy so that your eyes are a little brighter. Andi. I also tell them to part their lips just a tiny bit because sometimes you'll get girls that when they're not smiling the purse, their lips really hard together and then it looks like they're angry. So if they part them just ever so slightly and breathing through their mouth, I mean, watch America's next top model, Tyra says. Go, you know, like that's what she tells you to do. So you can use that and say, because they know they will know that immediately when you say that. So still, there might not be my favorite favorite shots because maybe she does. I mean, some people just in general look better smiling. You know, domain and some people can pull off a nine smiley look, but that's up to you to just work with them. You might have them erased. I always say a race, your face. You can tell I have kids and they laugh at me, but it just erase your face. Let's try it again, you know, because sometimes they'll get stuck in that look and you just erase your face. Let's do it again. Maybe you go to a moving or smiling pose and come back to it so it's more fresh. Also, I will tell you that if you have them close their eyes and then counted off and look up at you, that immediate look is better, because once they start thinking about it, they start doing something weird with unity mean like, Oh, I'm supposed to do this or do the duck face or whatever you know. So count it off. Have them open their eyes to stay, you know, open your eyes, glance up at me and we'll count it off. Don't smile. Just open your eyes and catch that first reaction. So there's are a couple of things you can do. Yeah. Anything else? Photo shoot. Do you keep all That s what I do is after I edit them, I have the raw images in a folder. I now have the edited images as J Pegs and a folder, and they're all under her name. So there's a big folder called Kendra. And then all these little folders are under here, and then I take them and move them. Teoh, my hard drive. External hard drive so that I have a copy of it. You have to external hard drives. Now that my computer crashed, it might be a good idea to move them into places. So in case your external hard drive crashes, I moved him off my computer at that point because you really don't need all this raw five files on there. But what if you had to go back for some reason and get them? Truth be told, I had I just told you my computer crashed. And there's a session that I never moved the edited images to my hard drive. But I have the wrong one, so I could re edit them if I had to, so that's that's a good reason to keep them. But maybe don't keep keep on your computer because you don't really need to take up that much memory.