I’m still not feeling it hugely with my pictures from the Roma family in Istanbul – while they’re being great with me I’m struggling to stop them posing, smiling and pulling odd faces in my portraits. I need to start shooing family members on their own and closer up. Hopefully tomorrow there should be someone there for a while who can translate for me. Two days to go until the end of this workshop so the pressure is kind of on…
shooTing :ø)
to stop them smiling try going very quiet..
or just shoot so slowly and in such quantity that the grin fades..
if they have fixed grins pretend to fiddle with the camera or just behave as though you are not happy till they stop..
or..
just ask them to try not to pull any expression..
or..
kick them.
maybe tell them a sad story while photographing..
but..
do not tell them ¨grandma´s DEAD!¨
no..
that can make subjects cry, it can..
especially if their grandma has just died.
avedon, (as legend has it), while photographing major dog lovers the duke and duchess of windsor told them that his car had struck a dog on it´s way to the shoot.. he manipulated the overly-photographed couple to avoid a generic smile.
:ø)
be aware of yourself while snappin – they are a mirror of you at the time you press the shutter..
hope you´re meeting nice people.
x