Mario’s note: True to his appointment on Thursday, one more week Vicente Nadal brings us tips and tricks that will help improve your photographic results. Today the thing is about couples photography. If what you are looking for is information on wedding photography, here is the most complete mega guide on the web to get started as a professional wedding photographer.
Whether it’s doing a favor for a couple of friends, or starting to take your first steps in couples photography, you may be having a hard time getting into this subsection of portrait photography. So the idea of today’s article is that you can, right now, produce photos of couples that leave your friends speechless.
The main thing to take photos of a couple is to capture their complicity, their looks, their good vibes, the happiness they give off when they are together, etc. That happiness and joy must be able to capture it in photographs and this is when these little tricks will help you.
You are ready?
Session Preparations
Any self-respecting couple photo session must have a minimum of preparation. Make an appointment with the couple to agree on the terms of the session. This preparation appointment will help you in two fundamental things:
- You will improve the empathy and communication you have with your partner.
- You will have a more professional recognition that will make them trust you and allow themselves to be advised.
In that conversation you have to agree in detail with the couple the following items:
1. The style of the photos. It allows you to specify with them and know what their tastes and preferences are. It can also influence the rest of the decisions. By the way, as a good photographer you must be able to adapt to the taste of your clients (or friends). You must make portraits that they like mainly. Whether they are to your personal taste or not, that would already be secondary.
two. Session location. If they are romantic photos there will be some more suitable places, if they are more informal photos there will be others that are better suited.
3. The schedule, because it is essential to have a good light. Except at noon due to the shadows produced by the sun, almost any time can be good, but if you want to take more interesting photos in the open field or on the beach, the hours of sunrise or sunset are the best. To help you plan the schedule I recommend this article which presents some apps for outdoor photography.
Four. Costumes, not only because it affects the style in a way, but also because of the comfort to do certain poses or the possibility of changing clothes once or several times.
5. Accessories. They are a fundamental element to mark the difference. Carry a folding chair, a blanket to sit on, a large snack basket with a few drinks and a bottle of sparkling wine, etc. in the trunk of the car. are some examples of elements that can help you to finish giving that different touch to your session. Here you can include personal elements of the couple, objects that have been given to each other or that remind them of a special moment in their lives.
6. If you have to go to another place for your couple photos, you have to plan well transport mode and the time you need to get to the location of the session and to return on time from other commitments you may have.
With this talk with the couple you should have it all well planned for a successful session, Now all that remains is for the day of the photo session to arrive.
The day of the session, just before starting, it is good to do a quick review of the work plan, in what order the photos will be taken, the settings, the costumes, etc.
Above all, it is very important that you take off good humor and happiness, you are going to spread it to your partner and that is always very positive for the photographic result.
The big day has arrived
During the couple photo session you must respect the style agreed with them but, in addition, you must have several types of photos that will give variety:
1.Stolen photos. That is, photos of the couple not posed, snapshots, taken in a totally improvised way. To achieve these photos you have to be attentive, with the camera pointed while the couple chats animatedly or plays. Be very patient to capture that special photo.
2. Posed photos. For this, the best thing is that you take some sketches and sketches of poses to be able to copy… yes, copying the poses is allowed and nothing happens.
3. Intimate photos. They are those photos in which the looks or gestures are more personal, photos in which the couple seems to be alone and totally absent from this world.
To have this variety of couple photos you are the conductor, you must direct them. The best thing is that you mix moments of improvisation with moments of posing. In this way you modulate the stress that you can cause them with your instructions.
Here are some tricks supplements that will help you achieve your goal more easily:
- tell them Let them play chase each other, throw water at each other or tickle each other. There are many games that can be played as a couple to provoke a smile or a laugh. That happiness of a good time is captured in photography and the good time they had will last over time.
- Beam whisper romantic things in the ear, first one and then the other, like that for a while. If they do it sincerely, their state of mind will be enveloped by that intimate love they share and you will be able to achieve intimate and credible photos. Sometimes, they can feel blushed by your presence or cut off, they will burst out laughing, and then you launch yourself to capture a few snapshots, thus having the previous trick achieved 😉
- When you make them pose don’t force them like a puppet to take a stand. Let them make an interpretation of the pose themselves, that they feel comfortable. If you see them forced, that they are not comfortable, do not take the photo. Tell them the truth and do something else.
To end…
Above all it is very important patience both to achieve those photos you are looking for and to provoke the situations you need. The first photos will surely not be good, it is logical, the couple is getting into a situation and you are testing the ground, learning how they move and what gestures or faces are real and not forced.
Regarding the composition of the poses, I also recommend that you read this article on the creativity of risky framing. It can be useful to you.
You can also buy the “Posing App” (for iPhone and android) that has many posing schemes for couple photos, it only costs €2.29. Or look for inspiration on Pinterest.
I hope that this series of tips and tricks will be useful to you when putting them into practice. Because that is what it is all about, “putting it into practice”. Everything you read will be useless to you until you practice it.
Enjoy.