A friend shoot!!!! Help!!!!

[lildlege1]

Ok so my friend wants me too shoot her and her kids. She knows that I am a practicng, learning photographer but I am soooo scared as this will be my first real practice shoot. OMG!! I dont know why I am so scared.. She wants these pics and doesnt want to hire anyone because she is a single mom and cant aford it right now. Oh, she wants outside pics and inside pics. I am afraid to mess this up as I am not even close to good yet!!! ANY SUGGESTIONS?????

 

[Robin Usagani]

If it is free.. nothing to be afraid of.

 

[GrantH]

I'm in the same boat, though it's my Grandma that wants it done. Can anyone share tips for inside shots without an after-market flash? I think it would benefit both of us.

 

[Stradawhovious]

Ok so my friend wants me too shoot her and her kids. She knows that I am a practicng, learning photographer but I am soooo scared as this will be my first real practice shoot. OMG!! I dont know why I am so scared.. She wants these pics and doesnt want to hire anyone because she is a single mom and cant aford it right now. Oh, she wants outside pics and inside pics. I am afraid to mess this up as I am not even close to good yet!!! ANY SUGGESTIONS?????

Take a breath, apply what you've learned, and take pictures. Like you and schwetty said, this is a free gig, and she knows you're learning. If for some reason either one of you aren't happy with the shoot, reschedule it. No harm, no foul. I'm not a pro, but this is how I've handled my limited number of free shoot excursions, and its been a blast, a great learning experience, and some folks have gotten some good images as a result.

 

[Edsport]

I'm in the same boat, though it's my Grandma that wants it done. Can anyone share tips for inside shots without an after-market flash? I think it would benefit both of us.

Without a flash and in poor light you'll have to use high iso and maybe long shutter speeds like a sec or so, depends on the light so make sure camera is on a tripod and subject remains still. If you have onboard flash diffuse it with a paper towel...

 

[PhotoFly]

Shoot hundreds of photo during the session. With a bunch of people you will be doing well to get one good shot out of a dozen, and you should aim to end up with a dozen good shots to choose from for the final winner.

Also don't just take posed photos. The best photos has a sense of life to them and are often taken on the fly.

Also try some fun gimmick photos, like having everyone jumping at the same time, or everyone holding mom up in the air or some such. Sometimes such things work, and other times they are duds, but it always seems to break up the ice.

 

[Linkovicha]

Haha, i'm in the same boat with a friend! I'll be reading the responses you get to see if I can glean some tips, as this is the first time photo shooting people for me and i'm just starting out!

 

[OrionsByte]

Well, like you said, they know you're still learning. Make it a learning experience. Look at the photos together after you're done and see what you both think you can do better next time, and then offer to do it again sometime so you can practice what you've learned. Rinse, repeat.

I have some friends that have asked me the same thing, and I'm looking forward to it because I know they'll be happy with whatever I come up with - when it's free it's obviously cheaper than going to a studio, but it's still going to be better than anything they'd get with a P&S on a timer or something.

Relax, and have fun.