How I experienced studio portrait session under 30 minutes ?
My second-year digital photography class is assigned to photograph people we never met for one of our class "Photographic design and style" at Lambton College photography Studio. At first, It seems like an easy task, light are set up, models are ready to pose but wait, where am I ? what I am doing here? as I started taking photographs of my model I felt completely blank. All the poses I learnt from guides and online research were lost from my mind hence the style and direction were the new words in my dictionary. After 1 minute of endless falling in dark. suddenly one of our professor David Chidley arrived at my studio setup. David saved me from sinking in the dark by asking the right question which was "What you want to archive from this photoshoot ?" which eventually stuck in my mind and I started to think about my portfolio how I will be using these photographs to convey my craft, and then I began to think what I can do to archive the best from this moment and create something I would be happy to hang as my portfolio. Working with people and the many variables requires flexibility and the ability to react and “progress” a shoot. Building confidence in the subject, getting them to relax and act naturally are proven paths to a successful session.
Some directions from our proffesor Dave Chidley to pose models
Start simple with natural looking poses.
Build the “S” curves in the spine, NOT straight like a statue.
Work the hands into natural and relaxed positions.