Communicating with the model

Learning goal

You will be able to relax a person who freezes in front of the lens by talking, directing and encouraging. You will try keeping the conversation going while shooting, asking the person open-ended questions about themselves and shooting while you listen to the answer. Instead of commands like "relax" that say nothing, you will build specific directions that describe a single body part, a single direction and a single movement, and show a movement that is hard to explain with your own body so the person can mirror it. You will tell the person honestly and at the right moment what is working, and not leave the blame for a bad frame on them. You will ask permission before touching someone, avoid commenting on their body, skin or appearance, and respect the different boundaries that people of different skin tones, ages and cultures have about eye contact, touch and closeness.

The question

The master is now a meter and a half away and his face is his own face. But the relaxed man inside the bakery is gone. His shoulders have risen toward his ears, his arms are stuck to his sides, his smile is the same and stiff in every frame. Your friend says "just relax"; the master tenses even more. Then there is silence. Your friend changes settings behind the viewfinder, the master waits not knowing what to do, and with every second he grows a little more distant. How do you relax someone who freezes in front of the lens?

Context

You know from the people photography lesson that laid the track's foundation that trust is built before the camera, that preparing the settings in advance frees your attention for the person, and that giving someone a task loosens a stiff pose (Lesson 16.1). At the club, too, you worked on how being specific when giving critique, showing what works and making a single suggestion, makes a comment usable (Lesson 23.6).

This lesson carries those two pieces of knowledge into the shoot itself. A portrait shoot is a work of conversation, direction and encouragement; each of these is a skill and can be learned. What sets most good portrait photographers apart isn't an expensive camera, but being able to talk with the person in front of them for minutes, to tell them clearly what to do and to make peace between them and their own face. When the person relaxes, the frames show it at once.

Simple explanation

Why is talking the shoot itself?

Conversational shooting is a way of working in which the photographer shoots while keeping the conversation going with the person, listening to their answer and telling stories. When the person starts talking about themselves, their attention moves away from the lens; their face changes with what they are telling and the expression comes not on command but with meaning. Open-ended questions that don't end with yes or no, such as "How many years have you worked in this bakery?", keep the conversation going. A question like "Do you remember your first loaf of bread?", on the other hand, calls up a memory and carries the trace that memory leaves on the face into the frame.

In conversational shooting silence is also a tool, but it must be conscious. A frame shot while the person is thinking can say a lot; whereas a silence that stretches while the photographer changes settings gives the person the feeling that something is going wrong. Continuing to talk when settings are needed, saying "I'm fixing the light a little, one second," doesn't leave the meaning of the silence to the person's guess. Sometimes lowering the camera from your eye and talking eye to eye also eases the tension; the person remembers they are talking to a human being again.

How do you direct?

Specific direction is a short instruction that describes to the person a single body part, a single direction and a single movement. "Relax" or "be natural" says nothing; it tells the person not what to do, but that they are doing it wrong, and tenses them more. Instructions like "lift your shoulders once and let them drop," "put your weight on your back foot," "push your chin slightly toward me," on the other hand, can be done. Instructions are given one at a time; someone who gets three instructions at once does all three halfway.

Mirroring direction is a way of directing in which the photographer shows the wanted movement with their own body and the person does it like a mirror. Things that are hard to describe, such as the tilt of the head, the place of the hands or the angle of the stance, are understood at once when shown. "Right" and "left," on the other hand, get mixed up when standing face to face; pointing to something in the room instead, such as "toward the window" or "toward the oven," prevents the confusion.

Permission to touch is the photographer clearly asking for permission before touching the person to fix a strand of hair, a collar or a shoulder. In many cases touching isn't needed; showing, or asking the person to fix it themselves, is enough. Boundaries about touch, eye contact and closeness change from person to person, from age to age and from culture to culture; some people may find looking straight into the lens uncomfortable. Asking about these boundaries instead of assuming them is part of directing.

Why does encouraging work?

Specific praise is telling the person, honestly and concretely, something that is really working in a frame: "Right now the light is exactly in your eyes," "your face changed when you talked about the dough, stay there." An empty "very good" repeated after every frame soon loses its meaning; specific praise, on the other hand, tells the person what to keep doing.

The photographer taking responsibility for a bad frame is also part of encouraging. Saying "I set the light wrong, let's try again" keeps the person from doubting their own face. This matters especially for people who have seen themselves look bad in photos in the past. Many dark-skinned people may have grown up with photos in which their skin looked too dark or gray; someone with light skin may also be tired of frames in which their face came out like a white spot. After setting the exposure for the face, showing the screen and letting the person see their skin in its own color often builds trust in the shoot more than any words. Meanwhile, comments that look like praise about a person's body, skin or appearance are also avoided; praise is directed at the image and the moment.

Visual evidence

In the first minutes of the shoot your friend says "just relax" and falls silent while changing settings. In the frames the master's shoulders are raised, his arms are stuck to his body, his smile is the same in every frame. His eyes look not at the lens, but at the uncertainty behind the lens.

Then your friend lowers the camera and asks the master about the day he first came to the bakery. The master starts telling the story; your friend shoots again while listening. "Put your weight on your back foot," they say, then show with their own head how to push his chin forward. After one frame they turn the screen around: "Look, your eyes lit up while you were telling it." The master sees his own dark skin sitting warm and detailed on the screen and laughs.

In these frames the shoulders have dropped, the face changes along with the story he tells, the smile is different in every frame. The tense man is gone, the master from the bakery is back.

Common mistakes

Summary

Someone who freezes in front of the lens relaxes with a conversation that keeps going, with specific and shown directions given one at a time, and with specific praise that says what is really working in the frame. Asking permission before touching, asking about boundaries, taking responsibility for the bad frame and letting the person see their skin in its own color grow trust.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will do a ten-minute portrait shoot of a friend or a relative while chatting.

1. Before the shoot, write three open-ended questions you can ask the person about themselves, and build one of them so that it calls up a memory.
2. During the shoot, use at least two specific directions and one mirroring direction; if you need to touch, ask permission first.
3. After a frame, show the screen to the person, tell them concretely something that works in the frame and ask them whether their skin looks like itself on the screen.

Check yourself

• Did the person's face and expression change during the conversation?
• Did each of your instructions describe a single movement?
• Was the person more relaxed at the end of the shoot than at the start?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. Why does the command "relax" usually not work?

• A) Because it is too long an instruction
• B) Because it doesn't tell the person what to do and signals that they are doing it wrong
• C) Because it only works with children
• D) Because it changes the light

2. Which of the following is a specific direction?

• A) "Be natural."
• B) "Stand a bit better."
• C) "Look nice."
• D) "Put your weight on your back foot."

3. When standing face to face, what prevents confusion instead of "right" and "left"?

• A) Pointing to something in the room: "toward the window"
• B) Giving the instruction louder
• C) Giving no instructions at all
• D) Giving the instruction in writing

4. What should the photographer say after a bad frame?

• A) "You moved."
• B) They should say nothing
• C) "I set the light wrong, let's try again."
• D) "It's hard with this face."

Answers

1. B — A vague command gives the person no movement, it only raises their anxiety.
2. D — It is an instruction that can be done, because it describes a single body part and a single movement.
3. A — A fixed object in the room shows the same direction for both people.
4. C — Taking responsibility keeps the person from doubting their own face.

Summary card

• Talk: ask open-ended questions, shoot while listening; don't go silent while adjusting either.
• Direct: one part, one direction, one movement; show the hard ones yourself.
• Point to something in the room instead of "right-left."
• Encourage: specific, honest praise; a bad frame is the photographer's responsibility.
• Ask before touching; praise the frame, not the looks; show the person their own skin.

Bridge to the next lesson

The master is laughing now, telling stories, his shoulders have dropped. But when his story ends and a quiet frame is wanted, his arms fall to his sides again, his body stands square to the camera and his hands, which don't know what to do, weigh the frame down. This time your friend doesn't know what to direct: the angle of the head, the chin, or the hands? Where should the hands go? The next lesson takes up angles, the chin, the hands and the stance.