NATURAL

Over the years my camera has become an extension of my arm, relate? Of course you do. Those lucky souls like you and I who discover they have a passion for photography quickly find it to be magically intoxicating in every way. We just can’t get enough.
Well passion and creative vision out the wazoo (pardon my French), even when coupled with perfect light, perfect equipment, and all the experience in the world will amount to very little if you’ve got a subject who just will not cooperate.
When I first started as a professional photographer it was mind baffling to me the way some people responded when I’d point my camera at them. “FOR PETE’S SAKE!” I’d lament to my husband after a shoot. “They were paying me to photograph them, they hired me, it wasn’t as if I ripped them from their houses, tied them to a tree and forced them to say ‘Cheese.’ What am I missing here?!?” Grrr. I would leave shoots like those EXHAUSTED… absolutely ready for a cup of tea and a bubble bath, and TOTALLY dreading uploading the photos… knowing that all I’d ended up with were a bunch of awkward smiles on tight, strained faces.
Then there came a time in my career when I was in desperate need of a head shot… I hate being in front of the camera… I know. I know. Go figure. Does the irony of all this tickle you as much as it does me? I called a friend and fellow photographer to handle the shoot. “OK Nic, short and sweet. We just need ONE good shot.” She pulled that camera out and it was everything I could do not to run screaming down the beach. She may as well have actually ripped me from my house and tied me to a tree. My heart was pounding, my palms were sweating and I could feel all the blood in my body racing to my face. Needless to say we DID NOT get that “ONE good shot.” Alas, the finished product showed just nervous, awkward bubble headed me … with a face as red as a cherry I might add.
Well over the years I’ve finally cracked the code to dealing with people photographically… Thus, The Human Side of Photography. Here’s 4 tips on how I work toward those beautiful, natural, genuine portraits that make our hearts sing, end up framed on our walls, and/or sell like crazy post production.