PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE

(Japanese Lady)

(Hula Dancer) (Keeping Cool) (Orange Hat)

Photographing people is an art and science(Technique) wrapped up in one. Let me explain. Photographing a person/model that is posing is somewhat difficult. Not all people are, to use the old cliche, "Photogenic". So to have someone pose so the end result will look natural and appealing, you must be able to combine the artistic side of you with the technical side and meld them together.

For example the picture labeled Japanese lady was a posed shot, albeit she was not posing for me. I intentionally included the Japanese man taking a picture to add a different perspective.

On the other hand some people feel very comfortable in front of the lens and do quite well without assisting them as you can see from the posed picture I took labeled Hula Dancer. She was sitting in a very relaxed position waiting for her hula event to take place. I approached her and asked If I could take a picture. She immediately responded and posed for the camera without me coaching; and as you can see the end result is very nice photograph.

Along with posed you have candid shots, catching people reacting to certain situations and doing things naturally. Of the two the latter is my favorite. So, how do you find these spots? I like to go to parks, water fountains on hot summer days, and special events. Parades are also a very good place to catch people doing things naturally. You can also get posed shots from parades and cultural events. Another spot, if you live in a large metropolitan area you can go downtown during the business hours and find many opportunities.

Photographing people is not a shy mans game. You must be able to approach people and ask permission to get their photograph at times. This is a work in progress for me. But as I do it more and more, I find that most people are very accepting of you as a photographer; as long as you give them a brief introduction of what you are doing. Other times it is not necessary, but depending on how you plan to use the photograph, if you can recognize the person then you may need to get a model release. Model releases are a whole different subject and if you visit www.danheller.com he has a book on model releases but also on his website you can find the necessary information you are looking for. Although these are not the only places to capture photographs of people, let the creative side of you determine where you would like to go.

One of the other pictures posted here is at a cultural event in Waikiki. I intentionally included the gentleman in the photograph because he was taking a picture of the Japanese lady. I wanted tell the story of what was taking place.

Sometimes taking photographs of people you need to find a different angle. The next photograph is taken from behind, the zebra stripe shirt with the orange hat and black braided ponytail all contribute to the effectiveness of this picture.

I can't recall who said it, but they said it best "Make pictures don't take pictures" and that sums it up. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and found some useful information. As always please make any comments you have, and happy photographing!