Portrait Photography: Some Tricks of the Trade
By Erin B. Reidy
 

The first question most photographers for hire ask their subjects is "what" they would like photographed. Since I deal strictly in portrait photography, the answers to this are less important. The first question I ask is how they plan on using the photographs or, if there is no specific plan, what sort of feelings would my subject like to convey in the picture? Serious and academic? Flirty and vivacious? 

Academic or Flirty?

Is this a portrait for a professional event, or pictures they'd like to use for their online dating profile. The purpose of the photographs is the first criteria, and I find the answers to this to be helpful when setting the roadmap for where I need to lead them.

Once they've told me what feelings they intend to convey and how they plan to use the photos, it becomes my job to bring out the expressions of those feelings in their portrait by reaching into my bag of various photographer's tricks and using directed conversation.

Given the state of the dating scene in Washington D.C., where I live, I get a lot of requests for photographs that will most likely be used for an online dating profile. Here, the goal is to provide a mix of formal and spontaneous shots. However, the formal shots still need a current of spontaneity. When taking the pictures, I try to translate what I know and have learned about flirting from my various sources, to poses which I suggest to the women. In these photographs, I might have my subject peering up at the camera through her lashes, knowing that a look like this will be more successful in a dating profile rather than say on a job resume. For a more spontaneous picture, I might try to find a pose or angle that is more likely to suggest flirting or seduction. In this case, I might have her hair flying in the wind, almost model-like.

I also get a number of requests for engagement portraits (which could be translated that the local dating scene can't be all that bad after all!). Again, I try to give the couple a mix of more formal shots to pictures that are more spontaneous and that reveal something about their relationship. During the less formal photography session, I will often try to start a conversation between the couple that will give them more opportunities to naturally express their feelings for each other. This picture is probably my favorite from the entire shoot for the particular couple being photographed. While there is definite tension in this photo, as his expression is uneasy and she is gazing lovingly at him, it captures a true dynamic between two of them as they work through the demands of planning a wedding. Thankfully, they loved it!

A loving engagement portrait