How to Connect With People in Portrait Photography

One of the fundamental keys to achieving a spectacular portrait is to connect with the person portrayed. And yet, one of the most frustrating things for a photographer who likes portraits (make no mistake, almost all of us are at some point in our lives) is wanting but not being able to, not knowing, dare not and see how the opportunity vanishes before our astonished gaze.

Before continuing, I recommend this mega guide that we have prepared on portrait photography with all the tricks and tips to achieve incredible portraits. In addition, you will find inspiration and much more than you can imagine.

Let’s continue with today’s topic, how many times have you lost a wonderful opportunity because of shame? How many times do you feel that you have rushed? Or that you have lost the essence of the person along the way? Have you ever felt that you were too far away, that that smile was too forced, in short, that this was not what you wanted to show?

Between you and me, how many times? tens? Hundreds?…! It seems that the time has come to solve it 😉 If you follow me I will give you a few tricks to try to solve this crossroads, this wanting and not being able to, this searching and not finding… Let’s get to it 😉

1. beyond the obvious
2. Empathy is your best asset
3. find out who is
4. break the ice
5. Keys to overcome your own insecurity
6. How to make your model feel comfortable
7. practice and patience

1. Beyond the obvious

There are many reasons why a portrait can fail, but for me, the worst, much worse than a failure of technique, exposure, or even composition, is that the portrait is just a face on paper (or on a screen). ).

That is to say, that our portrait does not speak, does not say anything, does not transmit an emotion, a situation, a feeling, something. Regardless of whether or not that person is pretty or ugly, young or old, portraits should speak (scream if necessary), they must be self-explanatory, they must move us in some way. That is the key to a portrait and, for me, the most difficult part.

Think about it, when you stand before a portrait in which you say wow either wow, either wow, or whatever you say when something takes your breath away, it is because that portrait goes further, it says something else, it shakes you, it reaches you.

2. Empathy is your best asset

And now you will tell me, okay, I want to do that, I want to shake whoever looks at the photo, I want to get to him, I want to make my way of seeing the world his for a few moments, but I have no idea where to start.

Well, you are not alone (or alone) in the battle, because achieving it depends on you, but also on the person in front of you, and this is where you get nervous (or nervous 😉) and this is where we get to the title of this section and that will summarize all the advice I can give you below. Empathy is your best asset and not only that, it’s the only way to get it.

Because a portrait speaks equally about you and the person in front of youand if you manage to get both of you moving in the same direction, with the same goal, you already have half the job done.

3. Who is he?

And you’ll say okay, I empathize, but how do I do it with this person I don’t know at all and whom I have to start photographing in a few minutes?

Very easy, to photograph someone you have to meet him firstand by that I do not mean that you can only photograph your brother or your mother, I mean that you must find out even a few brushstrokes of that person, spend a few moments to get an idea of ​​who he is, what he wants, what he likes. Photographing someone without knowing them at all is not a good idea in portrait photography.

4. Break the ice

many portraits forced they happen because we have not been able to connect with our model, it may be because of our own shyness and insecurity, or because we have not managed to get our model to break with their own shame or suspicion. In order to solve it:

• Smile. Nobody likes to be at the mercy (photographically speaking) of someone with an angry face. We like friendly smiles, they relax us and make us feel confident and well-being.
• present yourselfTell him a little about yourself, who you are, why you do what you do. Talking, sharing, and bonding are wonderful ways to connect with the other person.
• HE gentlerespectful and, above all, near.
• If you’re funny, take advantage of it ;-). There are few better ways to break the ice :-).
• Save the camera for last. First the human relationship. The photos later ;-).

5. Keys to overcome your own insecurity

It is normal for you to be nervous before a portrait session. The portrait is not easy, the looks are ephemeral and there are so many aspects that are beyond our control. We work with people and not objects, so there are many aspects to control.

• Practice with someone you trust. Before launching into any type of photography you must practice, and a lot. Before shooting strangers, try loosen up with someone you trust whom you can lead without fear.
• do your homework before the session. This is: to know what images do you want to makehow do you want to do them… If you arrive at a portrait session with a blank mind and nothing comes to mind, it may give you a nervous breakdown, but if you already have a few clear ideas to start with, they will help you to start and take safety and ease.
  • Learn some poses that you like by heart and put them into practice.
  • There are posing applications that you can carry on your Smartphone (for example (Posing App) for inspiration and/or moments of urgency 🙂
• The hardest thing is to start. So do it. That is, take some photos without thinking too much, make the necessary adjustments, the necessary tests. That’s it, you’ve already started. See how easy? 😉
• practice a lot. The more you master the technical part, the more you can forget about it and focus on the artistic part of the process 100%. So you can get closer to what you had in mind
• Trust yourself. you can do it 🙂

How to make your model feel comfortable

Surely you are not the only one who is nervous about a portrait. Therefore, do not forget the magic word: empathythat is, put yourself in their place:

• integrate it in session: i.e. explain what you are going to do, what you want to achieve, what you need the other person to do. The unknown scares us, but if we have clear and precise information about what is going to happen next, we feel more confident.
• you run the session and that’s the way it should be, that is, you are expected to do it and, if you don’t, it is likely that everyone will be nervous.
• If your model is somewhat camera shy:
  • Look for natural poses in which you feel comfortable.
  • Go ahead something to do with your handshaving our hands full relaxes us (you have your camera, but does he or she…? 😉
  • feel it. Isn’t it true that you prefer a job interview sitting down than standing up?
  • propose to do something exercise with which you feel comfortable. This way you will have more dynamic images and your model more relaxed.
  • invite him to lean against the wall. Doing so also loosens up your pose and overall attitude.
  • Start with the widest shots and leave the close-ups for when the session flows more naturally.
  • Be clear and concise in your requests (but without going overboard). That is, better a “look there and think of something that makes you feel happy” than: “look there, smile, raise your foot 90º to the right, your shoulder at 45º from the wall, your chin at an angle…” 😉
• Don’t stop constantly to look at the screenthat slows down the session and makes it tiresome, in addition to the fact that while you consult your screen, you can miss unique moments.
• be confidentif you are relaxed, you will spread it to anyone around you.
• You know how difficult it is to be in front of a camera for most mortals, right? Well, again, I tell you: put yourself in his place :-).

practice and patience

Be patient, lots of it, and be flexible. Sometimes things don’t turn out the way we expected, sometimes they turn out even better. Inspiration often comes to us working, believe me. A million times I had an idea in my head that didn’t work out in the end, but chasing that initial idea, an even better one has come to me. The point is to persevere and not give up. Set feasible goals and results and gradually reach your milestones.

Have you ever found yourself in any of these situations? In that case, I hope you’ll find at least a couple of ideas that will come in handy the next time you’re faced with a portrait. Oh, and don’t forget to share this article so that more people can benefit from its content. Thank you very much for reading this far and until next time 🙂