Don't want them to squirm

I am going to have a photo shoot with a family of 4 on Saturday. I am keeping my camera on automatic for now. I want to practice interacting with people I have never met before. They have a 19 month old son and 3 year old son.

My question is twofold...

1) What are ways to make others feel comfortable in front of the camera. I know there has to be a few "tricks" others use.

2) If I do take the camera off of automatic...I will will be shooting about 6:00 in the evening by a river, what is the best setting for that type of light.

Thanks for any comments.

Laura

 

You had better take the camera off automatic, if you're getting paid!

That's likely gonna lead to a lot of people getting pissed off at you.

Best setting, if you insist on using ANY auto will be aperture priority, at as open as you can get it.

What camera/lenses do you have?

 

In terms of keeping children in place, have you considered krazy glue? Don't bother applying it to their clothes -- they can get out of those. For best results, apply directly to the kid.

To the rest...yeah, it depends on the lighting situation. It could be cloudly, have trees, etc, and the settings would vary tremendously depending. You just need the expertise to know what to use in what situation...and I'm sorry to say that you either have that expertise or you don't.

(And to be clear, I don't...so I don't shoot anything that pays.)

 

Don't take this personally, but I can't believe I just read those two sentences together. I really hope this isn't a paid shoot, because if you are going to keep the camera on automatic and have to ask for tips and settings, it sure doesn't sound like you're ready to do paid shoots, and if it is, like the other poster said, you may have some upset clients. Anyone can take the camera out and shoot on automatic, but the shots will not likely be spectacular.

There is no "best setting" for 6:00 in the evening by a river. There are so many factors that come in to play: Is there shade, what kind of DOF are you after, what kind of lens do you have, etc...

You would need to be more specific.

 

In fact, I'd say you shouldn't be doing this shoot AT ALL. I can't even BELIEVE you would take this on. You keep your camera on auto??? Oh my god I've seen it all.

How much are you being paid? (The only acceptable answer is 0, and even then only with the knowledge you're a total beginner, I just want to know)

And come on. Shooting in auto but asking in Beyond the Basics?

Sounds like you need to read up on photography basics.

 

YAY lets all bash the new person...

Instead of telling them what not to do, lets tell them why they should do it the way you think it should be done.

Tips:

Ok so when you come onto onto a forum try and be as specific as possible, tell us your equipment, what you want to get out of the shoot and any other information relevent.

now depend ending where you are in the world 6 may be dark or still quite bright...

You need to have 1 (or more) reflectors in place to fill shadows

An external flash to use as fill is important-use with a defuser or or bouncing it on something otherwise the light could be to harsh (my on board camera flash is not great and I have a nice 30d)

Dont shoot Auto, your camera's brain will be trying to work out the shutter speed and aperture for you, plus it will set your ISO for you, this can result in grainy pictures. If your camera chooses a slow shutterpeed if your subjects move or your camera moves your image will get blurred-this will be aparent just from hitting your camera button as the downward pressure will shake the camera. I could go on....

If its a new camera and you are learning then I asume that you are using the photoshoot as practice and you are not gettting paid for it, so if you mess the pictures up while using AV TV or M mode dont worry-its suposed to be fun while you learn.

For poses dont cut lims off at joints and you will be fine...

The reason people get angery on the forum when people start to call them selves photographers, and start charging for pictures taken on auto or P mode with minimal equipment is because They put in alot of hard wotk to become good at what they do, pictures taken on custom settings are a world apart in quality when used correctly. so if someone is using a DSLR on auto and getting paid, the work is likely to be substandard, which in turn can give photographers a bad name. There are lots of reasons tooo.

Oh and I have been shooting manual since April with my camera and before that a year with my old camera (advanced point and shoot) and I am not ready to go out and get paid even though I have done practice shoots because I want to go out equipped with the best knowledge and take amazing shots that are worth the money that the clients paid for them-this time next year, hopefully thats where I will be

Last thing-post your pics when your done so we can advise you for your next practice

 

So you don't find this ridiculous at all?

 

I'm not bashing anyone, I just thought the statement was crazy, to be doing a photo shoot with a family on Auto - that's why I asked if it was paid or not and provided advice based on the limited info provided.

 

The real fun'll come when OP comes and sorts this out.

 

Thank goodness someone said that!

I agree that no one should be charging for something they don't know how to do but assuming she's just offered to take some pictures of a 'friend of a friend', keeping the camera AP (which is an auto setting) with a wideish aperture is a perfectly sensible way to proceed if you want to concentrate on interactions with your targets.

 

I don't think anyone's actually answered the OP's first question: 1) What are ways to make others feel comfortable in front of the camera. I know there has to be a few "tricks" others use, so I'll give it a try. Just be yourself, and don't immedately get the camera out. Talk a bit, find out a bit about them, and let them find out a bit about you. Especially if you're getting paid, it's a very fine line between being nice and chatty and just wasting the family's time.

However, I do agree with the other posters, it would be a VERY good idea to take the camera off Auto mode. Take hundreds of photos in various modes (Shutter priority, Aperture priority, Manual), and find out which ones are the best. Not all of them are going to be perfect.