Taking pictures of friends

[echoyjeff222]

Okay, this might be kind of weird ... but it seems that even though I know quite a bit about exposure, focus, lighting, etc. I am not that great when it comes to taking pictures of groups of people or portraits of friends. It's kind of sad, since that's probably the most practical form of photography that I'm going to be practicing!

I was wondering if you guys had links to tutorials or just tips on how to get better at casual photography. I usually just end up taking full body shots, but nothing other than that. I follow the rule of thirds and include the background, if it is a travel type picture. What else?! Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

Interacting with your subjects, getting them to be comfortable in front of your camera, is a skill that usually has to be learned and practiced. All the best portrait photographers I know, are the type of people who can strike up a conversation with a stranger at a moments notice. They could walk down the street and find 5 people who will pose for a photo.

So if you can work on your 'people skills' it will make for better photos of people. For many people, this just means overcoming their shyness and being more outgoing.

 

[echoyjeff222]

Thanks for that tip. Do you have any suggestions for posing and composition as well?

 

[tirediron]

There as many poses and compositions as there are photographers. Your best bet is to use Google Image Search for terms like "Portrait pose", "model pose" and so on. There are also lots of general posing tutorials on line;it's really a matter of finding out what you like.

 

[Derrel]

I would look into a good BOOK or two. Hit up Goodwill and buy some used ones. Seriously.

 

[LEO_PF]

Totally agree with Big Mike on this one. You have to be able to make the people feel comfortable by chatting with them, watching how they naturally stand, sit and move while you interact with them. Sometimes just by doing that, you will see an angle that would be cool to shoot from. Have them interact with each other also. I was having fun with 2 of my grandkids a while back and whispered something to each of them individually as a secret between us. This got them giggling and interacting with each other without me having to do anything. Just have fun. If you have fun, so will they.

If you don't know the people well and have a chance to meet with them a few days prior to your session to get to know them a little that can be HUUUGGGEEE! Even for just 30 minutes. Helps everyone more comfortable when you start pointing the camera in front of them. If you are relaxed, they will be too. One of the things that can also help is to keep a distance from the people. I don't know what lens you are using, but if you have a long zoom lens you can accomplish that.

For what it's worth...

 

[LEO_PF]

One other thought. I'm reminded of a mentor of mine that said they looked at portraiture a little differently. They call it landscape portraiture. In other words, they found a beautiful landscape (which looking at your images you have that handled). Then they just found a way to put the people in the portrait that made sense. What I mean by that is when someone would later look at the portrait are the people doing something that makes sense for the overall scene. If you see a beautiful park scene and there happens to be a park bench, don't just put them on the bench looking at the camera. Have them sitting as if you just caught them in a beautiful serene moment interacting together. Shoot for the landscape and figure out why the people are there.

Ok...For what it's worth.

 

[aavivi]

It really depends on what type of group photography you're looking to do... I always prefer the candid, informal, shoots, cant stand those static/frozen shots with so e people forcing a smile, some looking like they'd rather be anywhere else. I usually start out by just spraying (digital film is cheap), it gets people used to me shooting, so at some point they start 'ignoring' the guy with the camera, letting me take really awesome candid shots. I prefer to use a rather shallow DoF as it helps take out distracting backgrounds. Also, don't be afraid to zoom-in for some close-up expressions.

Sent from my stone tablet using semaphores

 

[Postman158]

I agree with Big Mike, you have to make them feel comfortable. Awkward moments call for awkward pictures. As for posing, I'm constantly just browsing portraits on the web. Check out google, and search "Senior Pictures", "Engagement Photos", that kind of stuff and add it to your mental pocket book