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I was enjoying a drink with some friends Friday evening when a photographer came up to us with a small advertisement for the ‘party pics’ section of a nightlife website asking if we wouldn’t mind having our photo taken. Without much hesitation we all agreed and ended up with a fun shot (I am in the green) that is on the website. I got to thinking about my dealings with getting photos of strangers for photography gigs.

The spectrum of reactions you get when you ask people to be in a picture are amazing. A lot of people are off put, even angry. Judging from those first reactions one would think the question was ‘May I kick you in the neck repeatedly?’ instead of ‘Would you like to get together for a photo?’

Part of getting into an area of photography dealing with humans is learning how to approach people. It isn’t always too bad, there are a lot of people that love having their photo snapped and jump at the chance but often you run into skepticism. It comes up a lot, even when I am involved in working events where the person knows there is a photographer covering everything and I am not some random person that feeds off of awkward moments with strangers.

Here are a few tips when photographing people you don’t know.

Be Genuine. This is something that is important in any area of your business. Look and act like something that is worthy of trust. You don’t need a ridiculous shtick to draw people in looking like Matthew Lesko. Have a business card and be honest about who you are what you are doing.

Be Empathetic. These people don’t know you, and in some cases they don’t know what you are using these photos for. Address some of those obvious concerns that people justifiably have and you will have a more comfortable subject.

Understand It Won’t Always Work. Part of being a photographer in this area is dealing with awkward situations. There is no way to avoid this, being mentally prepared for these situations goes a long way. From this encounter you will either have a good story or a good shot. Hopefully it is the latter but there are instances comedy gold came from random conversations that come up from gigs where people were not interested in having their photo taken.

If All Else Fails Give Candy! Fred Johnson has a great blog post with a video of him and Amit Gupta of Photojojo fame conjuring a plan to give candy for candid photos.

At the end of the day, what is the worst that can happen?

Ok, don’t think too hard about the answer to that just go out and get some great work. People are waiting for you to take their photo and they don’t even know it.

Relay For Life Event. Springfield, MO.

This is a question I have been getting a lot lately. People who are just getting into photography or people who take a lot of pictures with their friends and wonder why they are different.

It occurs to me that people are too focused on the technology. When I am out with friends and they give me their point and shoot for a picture outside of a bar as soon as it is in my hands they make jokes about how terrible it is and basically apologize that they have a consumer camera like I am above this little toy and should be thanked for gracing the shutter button with my pointer finger. You know what? I miss having a point and shoot. I miss that little Canon S2IS. When I get my hands on one I generally go to town getting all these fun little angles that are tough for my 5D. It is also fun to have the freedom to shoot without being noticed so much. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade my rig for anything but the point is the magic is in composition.

You need to work to eliminate artifice. What is artifice? I have to admit I got it from Tom Hanks. He was being interviewed on “Inside The Actors Studio” by James Lipton and his cue cards. He talked about his pursuit to keep artifice out of all the work he does. That feeling that something isn’t genuine. There are times when you are lost in a movie and completely into it. It is the difference between watching Tom Hanks in a movie and getting into it as opposed to watching a movie and feeling like you are watching a person who is an actor reading lines. This same thing can be applied to photos. It is about creating scenes that are void of small things that take away from the feeling a photo is trying to convey. Some examples below.

This is a photo from the archives that hasn’t been messed with or processed. Not a terrible shot but the focus of this was supposed to be the building. That car pretty much messes everything up. It takes away so much of the attention. Then there are also some small pieces of litter and the tree doesn’t add anything to the photo. The second photo is another story. It hasn’t been processed either but it has total focus on the building. The car and other things taking away attention are all out. The sky acts as something that makes the building look even better. It almost looks like something that isn’t real. When it comes to composition what you put in the frame is as important as what you don’t put in the frame.

Below is a photo of downtown Kansas City I did a few months back. It captures an urban scene better than most the stuff I have done. Nothing there takes away from the overall feeling a viewer takes away from the photo. If there was a big Payday Loans advertisement on the side of the building it would change everything. Instead of this view of an urban landscape it would be the same old street you pass everyday.

Understand the things in your photo and their relationship with each other. This is something I would like to work on more as time goes on. Really understanding what is in a photo and what feelings these elements conjure in a viewer is important. I have never seen a better example of this than Matt Stuart’s work. Matt’s ability to take different unrelated objects in photos and snap them in a way that adds narrative is a huge inspiration. Focusing on all the things in your image and exploring their relationships is one of the best parts of photography.

There are so many variables with photography. Intent, audience, and context to name a few. There are no absolutes pr rules that make the “perfect” picture. Focusing hard on what is and isn’t in your picture and taking away anything that detracts from that will produce improved photos coming out of your camera.

Recently I ran across the post “30 Photos That Inspired Me to Learn Photography” at YouTheDesigner.com. There was some good work in there, a few things I had run across but mostly things that were new to me. It got me to thinking about putting together a collection of photographs that inspired me to learn photography. After some deep thought a problem arose; there aren’t any. I couldn’t really think of photographs that stood out in my mind before this all started. The big source of inspiration I found myself drawing from was music videos. I have always loved music videos, they always add such interesting narrative to songs and artists. I remember my friends growing up not understanding why I always wanted to flip on videos if nothing else was on. Three videos stood out amongst the crowd as inspirational.

Naked As We Came by Iron and Wine

This whole thing is beautifully crafted. The objects, time of day, and sequence in which it is shot make for a very special moment in time.

Life On a Chain by Pete Yorn

I have been trying to recreate and capture some of the moods and lighting situations in this video since I picked up a camera. The constant changes of focus give a great example of how one image can say different things by a change of perspective. You can almost smell the terrible well liquor being poured in this joint.

Remind Me by Royksopp

Much like the music of the group, this video is strange. It does a good job of reminding you that everything represents something. Even the smallest mundane things in life have a story behind them and are connected with everything else. This video tackles some of those stories. If you liked this video you would also like “Epple” by the same group.

I stumbled into photography accidentally. Took a class that provided me with a cheapo digital camera and let me run free with it. I must have canvassed the whole town; nothing was safe from that lens. Walking down the streets in a very deliberate fashion looking for the angle, the reflection, the interesting person, or the narrative jump out at me. Standing in the middle of a sidewalk just gazing into an empty alley trying to ignore the people around me that were justifiably confused as to what was going on or what I was doing. I remember being out in the middle of the night taking pictures in downtown Springfield. Nobody was around…even the bar crowd had cleared out. The whole place is usually so lively but it was empty right now and the feeling was eerie. Moving into the middle of the street and getting close to the road I took a few shots.

I remember being floored by this photo. Being absolutely in love with it. These days? I might not give this a second look. The whole thing is too yellow for my liking and the closeup road thing is cool but you see too much asphalt…being able to see more beyond the road is more interesting.

But who is right? The person now or then? I am not sure. These days I am blessed with a really nice rig. A camera setup that lets me do everything I could dream of but there are times I feel like I was a better shooter with that $75 camera. You had to work harder for it. The technical limitations of the camera forced you to go about things in creative ways to get shots.

I wouldn’t trade what I have now of course. I am able to do a lot of interesting work in almost any setting. But sometimes I wonder if the L series lens and the fast shutter speed have made my eye for the “real” shot lazy.