Photography Tips - This Photography Life

Photographer Spotlight: Chris Suspect

Megan Kwasniak — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 23:05:19 +0000

Throughout the recent years, as I’ve attended various photography events, I’ve come to know many wonderful and talented photographers, some of whom have become my friends. I first got to know Christ Suspect at a San Francisco street photography festival last year and was blown away by his work. As a member of the audience, I got to watch Chris’ presentation of the photographs he has taken at various parties throughout the years. It was nothing like I’ve ever seen before. The rawness and honesty of the images shown truly captivated me. It was one of those photography collections that are not easily forgotten. Fast forward a year later and I’m honored to share an interview with Chris as part of my Photographer Spotlight series. It’s truly fantastic to hear his story, discuss photographic style and get a sneak peak into the projects he has been working on, especially his newest book Gratuity Included. Take a look! It’s really great to have you here in this digital space Chris! I was first introduced to your work at the San Francisco Street Photography Festival last year and have become a big fan since. Tell me more about who you are and how you started in photography. I am 51 years old and I live in Hyattsville, MD, right on the border with Washington, DC. I got into photography later in life after the birth of my son. We needed a camera to take photos so we bought a Canon PowerShot and I read the manual and fiddled with the settings as I walked around my neighborhood trying to figure out how it worked. When I was much younger I used to go to punk rock shows a lot and really admired a lot of the images punk bands were using on their album covers and inserts, whether it be protest photos, photojournalism, war reportage, crime scenes or weird creations using photo montage. After learning the basic functions of the camera, I started to go shoot protests in DC and current punk rock shows. I would also spend hours walking around the city just trying to catch cool street photos. I really had no idea at that time I was doing “street photography” but in essence that’s what I was doing. After a period of time I got more serious and bought a film camera and took a color film photography class at the Corcoran School of Arts. Since then I have never looked back and to this day I am always trying to further the craft by reading books, going to exhibits and learning as much as I can about all kinds of photography. Would you say you identify yourself with any particular genre of photography? Do you find this association more limiting or rather liberating to your work as an artist and photographer? That’s an interesting question because I personally don’t identify with a specific genre, but labels have often been applied to me as I present different bodies of work over time. At first I identified as a street photographer because I was entering lots of street photography contests and doing well, but then I published a book on the DC punk scene and became the punk rock photographer. I also started posting crazy party scene images and I became the party photographer. I find that people like to pigeonhole you so they can fit you into a box that makes sense to them. I don’t mind this but it can also make it tough when you try to present something different as people build up preconceptions of your work and style and often won’t give you a chance if you are doing something new. I am a big fan of the photographer Lee Friedlander, and while Friedlander is generally considered a street photographer, he has done so much more from Jazz portraits to nudes to landscapes and even still lifes. I strive to be like Friedlander in the way that he can traverse many genres while at the same time his style and viewpoint transcend his subject matter. I personally enjoy doing new things and ideally reaching new audiences. I have some new work coming out that focuses on various aspects of LGBTQ communities. In fact I am currently part of an LGBTQ exhibit at PHOTO LA this year. I guess that’s going to make me the gay photographer now LOL… Your social media handle is @gratuity_included. What lies behind this unique name and what does it refer to? My @gratuityincluded account on instagram is really a project focused account. All the time I was taking the punk rock photos I would find myself at various parties where people were having fun and acting crazy. I really enjoyed taking these images and so I started to search out unusual events just so I could shoot them. Other times I would just go out into the city on my own and insert myself into different party scenes. Most of these parties and bars I went to were attended by millenials and many worked in the service industry. So the name is a double entendre if you will. It reflects the nature of the places and people I shot while at the same time giving a nod to the provoking imagery that I was creating. I really like making images that scratch the lizard or reptilian parts of our brains, ie photographs that can give rise to our primitive urges and desires. Tell me about a project you are currently working on or have worked on in the past that you were particularly passionate about? What made you decide to do it? FAITH a long term project about a gay African American religious community that I did several years ago. It started in 2013 when I witnessed a minor accident where a pedestrian was hit by a taxi. I took photos of the scene and gave the victim Bilal Ali the images for his lawyer. A few months later Bilal called me up and asked if I would shoot a party he was throwing at a restaurant he rented out in the Dupont Circle area of DC. This photo shoot turned out to be an introduction to a community of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender African Americans that would blossom into a full scale, long term project that I worked on over several years. I admit when I started this project I knew very little about the issues gay African Americans face in today’s society. I incorrectly assumed that since the momentum towards the acceptance of same-sex marriage in numerous states and the culmination of this recognition by the US Supreme Court in 2015 that all was equal under the rainbow flag. But that is not the case as all things still aren’t equal today. American society is highly segregated and it should come as no surprise that the American LGBT movement is mostly represented by white gays and lesbians. Black gays lack their own prominent voice or representation on a national level. Despite the support of prominent national, African American leaders, like Obama and Oprah, show for gay culture in general, many black gays feel they do not provide a voice for their community. In communities, black families may accept their children’s sexuality but not openly, compared to many white families who proudly accept their children’s sexual orientation. The black Baptist Church is also notoriously intolerant of homosexuality, so the people I met in this project have been ostracized in the churches of their upbringing. Through this project I learned that in many of Washington, DC’s gay clubs African Americans often face prejudice. Discrimination can take the form of bogus dress codes or even charging significantly higher drink prices to African Americans, to discourage them from returning. In addition, many profiles on gay dating apps say “no blacks.” In response to all of this, the people in my project have created their own environments to express their lives. They gather at private parties organized in homes, restaurants or underground venues friendly to their lifestyle. They have also established their own church, The Community Church, in Washington, D.C., where they are fully accepted and worship freely. In shooting this project I went to their parties, homes and church services. I met all kinds of wonderful and amazing people who welcomed me into their community and allowed me extended looks into their personal lives. Nothing is held back from what I photographed, from the erotic to the spiritual. For me it embodies the relentless determination of an empowered community I have had the privilege to get to know. When I look at your work, I can almost certainly spot a certain style of photography. What constitutes style and how does one develop it? What advice would you give photographers eager to develop their own, but who are not quite there yet? Style is in essence one’s personal voice projected through their medium of choice, whether that be writing, art, clothing, dance, etc. Everyone has their own intrinsic style, the challenge is how to express it in an authentic manner that reflects your identity, values and aesthetics. This can be a long journey as it requires you to not only look deep inside but to learn the crafts that will help you express yourself. For my journey what I found that worked was to educate myself about the history of photography, specifically street and art photography. I wanted to know why people considered some people masters of their craft. For example, when I started, I really didn’t get people like Garry Winogrand, Cindy Sherman, Francesca Woodman or Joel Peter-Witkin. It wasn’t until I read books, articles and blogs about their lives and looked at their work in earnest that I began to understand why people considered them to be great. This in turn inspired me to see if I can create something similar or infuse some of what they were expressing and how they were expressing it into my own work. Overtime, you will transition from what can seem like a copy of an idea or style into something truly authentic. But first you need to understand the foundations that these previous artists have established and your role is to then continue that visual conversation by adding something new. As portraitist Dawoud Bey says in his recently published workshop book on Aperture, “you have to share a language even if you don’t share an intention.” What’s the next chapter for Chris Suspect? What should we look out for? I am glad you asked this question because this year I have set a lofty goal for myself. My plan is to publish four zines/mini-books per quarter in limited edition runs. I am starting with Gratuity Included and this publication will have 41 images in 6 sequences separated by translucent red poly pages. It will also have a red poly cover. The next book will be Leather Boyz and it explores 6 years’ worth of images taken at the Mid Atlantic Leather festival in Washington, DC. This publication will have four gatefold spreads and will also have a blue poly cover. I plan to follow that with a book on the Black Sea beach town Vama Veche in Romana and then my last will be called Revolution Rock and Roll which will pull images from a 24 hour period in Philadelphia in which I shot a music video for the band Low Cut Connie. This will come with a download code for the song with the same name. All of these first editions will be limited to 150 copies, but subsequent editions will not include special features like poly page covers, separations or music download codes. It’s been more than five years since I had my first book “Suspect Device” published and it’s time for some new things to come out. I plan to release Gratuity Included in mid-March and will be taking pre-orders on my site, www.chrissuspect.com soon!

The post Photographer Spotlight: Chris Suspect first appeared on This Photography Life.

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10 Ways to Elevate Your Smartphone Photography

Megan Kwasniak — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 04:25:10 +0000

Happy Superbowl Sunday my dear readers! I’m not much of a football fan, but I imagine the day must be quite exciting for the sports enthusiasts out there. Despite the occasion, this will not be a post about how to shoot better sports and action photos. Instead, I’ve been feeling the need to write a follow-up post to the one from two weeks ago, the one where I tell you not to go out and buy a new camera. At least not immediately. So if you don’t buy any new gear, but actually want to take better photos, how can you elevate your photography with the camera you most certainly already have, aka your smartphone? Fear not! I have compiled ten tips to immediately improve your smart phoneography. They are as follows: START WITH AMAZING LIGHT What does that mean? Well, there are photographers out there who proclaim that no light is “bad light.” While I do (mostly) agree with them, I also know from experience that great light makes for greater photos, especially if you are using a simple camera, such as the one on your phone. So what is great light? It is the light that falls at the beginning and towards the end of the day, also known as the golden hour light. It is the soft, low light that creates beautiful shadows and illuminates color. It makes everything appear more vibrant and warm as well as more three dimensional. It will make your photos appear instantly better, no matter the subject. Now, I am not saying you should only shoot during the golden hour, that is absolutely not my intention. What I am saying is that if you find your photos falling a bit dull and unexciting, try shooting when the light different than your usual midday sun and I bet your photographs will take on a different character instantly. USE THE RULE OF THIRDS This famous rule is very well known and frequently implemented in the photographic world. It is a compositional rule that creates more dynamic images than simply placing your subject in the middle of the frame. It is super easy to utilize and it can really help beginner photographers create much more visually appealing pictures. Best news is that you can start using it immediately, (yes, right away!) to improve your photography. And using a smart phone is a perfect place to start. Rule of thirds involves breaking the image into nine equal squares. Whenever you place your main subject at the intersection of these squares, you create a more dynamic and interesting photo. Craziest part is, most smart phones (OK, the newer iphones for sure, I am not hundred percent certain about other brands) have a GRID option you can turn on in Settings that already superimposes the rule of thirds onto the screen for you. You don’t even have to imagine it in your head – it’s right there! Turn the GRID option on, fire away keeping this simple compositional technique in mind and see your photos transform in front of your eyes. GET CLOSER! A famous photographer once said, “If your pictures are not good enough, you’re not close enough” (Robert Capa). I believe this to be especially true with smart phone photography. In order to create more intimate, moving images, we often have to place ourselves closer to the subject we are photographing. Since smart phones’ only option for zooming in is a digital zoom, which often creates grain and degrades the overall quality of the photo, it may not be a bad idea to simply place the phone physically closer to our subject, whenever possible of course. This will eliminate all unnecessary elements from our frame and simplify the composition, which frequently helps the overall message we are trying to deliver. Another bonus is that a phone is usually a lot less intimidating to potential subjects than a big DSLR with a telephoto lens. Try getting closer to your subjects and see what images you can get. TRY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES Sometimes all we need to create much more compelling images is to change our perspective. Instead of shooting someone head on, try moving to the side, go really low or really high (by climbing a chair or a bench for example) or get down to your subject’s level, which may mean lying down on the ground to create a more intimate encounter. I find that changing our angles dramatically changes our photography, most frequently for the better. And the best part is that shooting digital means you never have to worry about too many exposures! Shoot your subject from every possible angle before you make the final decision about which shot truly nailed it. FOR PORTRAITS AND PEOPLE, TRY AN OPEN SHADE You know that time when you took your friend’s picture and instead of seeing their blue eyes you saw dark shadows? And let’s be honest, didn’t they look much better in person that day than in your photo? That’s because you shot them in direct, harsh sunlight instead of moving them into an open shade! Here’s a little (quite well known actually) secret that makes for much better portraits instantly: taking a photo in a shaded area makes your friend look a lot more attractive than taking it in bright daylight on a sunny day. This doesn’t apply as much to golden hour (see above) as the low light creates a much more pleasing appearance, but if you are shooting portraits in bright daylight, consider the shade your greatest asset. Those blue eyes will pop for sure! SIMPLIFY YOUR BACKGROUND There is nothing more that ruins an otherwise great photo than a distracting background. Thankfully, it’s also one of the simplest things to correct almost immediately. Whenever you point your phone in the direction of your main subject, quickly glance behind and to the side of them to assess what’s really there and whether it will add to the subject or distract from them. If the background is really distracting (poles coming out from behind, crowds of people walking by, geometric shapes that stick out strangely for example) consider either moving your subject to a less “noisy” area or move yourself to a different spot to eliminate some of those disrupting elements from the frame. This will simplify your composition, perhaps add an interesting angle (see above) and help your overall image to tell a better story. MAKE YOUR PHOTOS THREE-DIMENSIONAL Even if you keep your background plain and your composition simple, you can still make your photos more three-dimensional by carefully selecting your foreground, middle ground and background elements in your final image. Using the three with intention takes something that is usually two dimensional and translates it into something that we normally experience in reality. When chosen thoroughly, foreground elements will gently lead your viewer into the main subject and the background elements will add interest to the overall picture. You don’t need a fancy camera to do this. Your smart phone is perfectly capable of capturing all three and transforming your image into a story. LOCK IN YOUR EXPOSURE Whenever you point your camera phone onto your subject, the built-in sensor takes a reading and tries to adjust the perfect exposure based on how much light is entering it. Phone cameras are very good at this, but unfortunately not great, meaning there will be times when you have to “help” your phone recognize the proper exposure. Whenever your subject appears a bit too dark on screen while you are trying to take a picture, touch the screen with your finger over your subject area to tell the camera what it needs to expose for. Once you see that the subject is brighter, hold the finger for a few more seconds until the square “blinks” and locks the exposure in, even if you re-arrange the composition (to meet the rule of thirds for example). This is true for most iPhone models and I predict for other phone models as well as it has pretty much become a standard these days. You can perform a similar technique for a subject that is too bright, as in for a sky that looks blue in real time, but appears washed out (completely white) on your screen. You can place your finger on the overly exposed area, see it get darker and hold down to lock the exposure. This is a trick that is really worth knowing and utilizing in appropriate situations. USE BURST FOR MOTION If your subject happens to be a squirmy child, a fast running dog or simply an athlete showing off her skills, you can use the burst method on your phone to capture multiple images and dramatically increasing your chances of getting that perfect shot. Essentially BURST = FAST ACTION. To choose burst mode, simply hold down the shutter button while you are taking your picture. This will allow for multiple shots to be taken and you get to choose the best ones later. EDIT IN CAMERA I cannot tell you how many times I’ve used the editing tools of the smart phone camera itself to improve my exposure, increase contrast and crop the photo to a more desired composition. While I try to take the best photograph that I can in the moment I am taking it, using minor editing is frequently unavoidable. Most smart phones today have editing tools accessible right in their built in camera mode and they are only getting better with time. Sure you can use a variety of apps available for this very reason (my two favorites are VSCO cam and PS Express), but why waste precious time launching the apps, importing our photos, tweaking endlessly and then exporting to photos somewhere else when we can do that almost immediately in the same place after taking the actual picture? I’ve found that rapid tweaks done immediately upon exposure make for some of my best photos. And if you follow some of the tips I’ve shared here, your editing process should become super simple and time saving. So there you have it, my best tips for improving your smart phoneography. As in last post, the images I’ve included today are all done with my iPhone and with minimal editing. I hope these help you guys in taking better everyday photos and I would love if you share some of them with me, either here in comments or on your social media sites, with the hashtag #thisphotographylifesmartphone And please subscribe to my blog so you never miss another post (keep scrolling to the bottom of this post) Hope to see you there!

The post 10 Ways to Elevate Your Smartphone Photography first appeared on This Photography Life.

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Why You Should NOT Buy the New Camera…and Use Your Phone Instead

Megan Kwasniak — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 00:48:24 +0000

This is a post I have been meaning to write for a while. It’s a post for all my friends and colleagues who have come to me over the years asking the seemingly simple yet actually very problematical question: WHAT CAMERA SHOULD I BUY? Believe it or not, but this question to me is a little like asking, what career should I choose in life? Before you become outraged and claim this comparison to be over the top, let me explain. You see my dear readers, currently there are hundreds of cameras on the market. All quite excellent in terms of quality, they range in a variety of brands and prices, each promising to deliver a better photo than its next door competitor. Point and shoot, DSLR, mirrorless and film cameras are all competing for your attention, the potential buyer. But before you decide on whether Nikon or Sony or Fuji are the ones that deserve your hard earned money, consider this most important question: what exactly do I like and what am going to shoot? If you are a young and budding photographer or just simply a photo enthusiast who wants to bring better photos back from her oversees vacations, to you specifically I say this: DO NOT BUY A NEW CAMERA. Please, just DON’T. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and skip getting new gear altogether. Here’s why: * Cameras do not capture photos. YOU DO. If you do not know the basics of photography, the new gear will not teach you. As a matter of fact, this new camera you have just bought and taken out of the box the day before your exciting trip will become a burden rather than a tool. It will not fix your faulty composition, your lack of understanding of light or your sharpness. After a few snapped photos that do not meet your expectations, you will likely leave it in your bag and not take it out until you’re back home again. Your hard earned $850 will not fix what you don’t know. * Given how affordable and accessible photography gear has become in the recent years, you likely already own a camera of sorts that can capture excellent photos if you simply allow yourself to learn how to use it. Yes, that includes your phone! Mobile cameras have reached excellent quality and can be used to a great advantage. The key is to learn HOW to use them. No matter what smart phone you currently have, they all posses some excellent features that will improve your photography. The obstacle lies in the fact that most people never take the time to learn how to use them. Take a good look at your “old” camera. Take out the users manual or if you don’t have one, search for it online. Most exist as a digital version as well as a paper copy. Learn the basics and go out and shoot with it! Nothing trumps experience of actually using your gear and making work with it. * Instead of spending close to a $1000 for a new gear, spend $25 for a proper photography manual. There are many great ones on the market. Instead of wasting hours searching whether to buy a Cannon or a Nikon, spend that time learning about the basics of light, composition and shutter speed. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING will improve your photography faster than learning a few basic rules and shooting with those rules in mind, no matter what camera you currently own. I challenge you to really embrace this, it will change your photography forever. * If you absolutely must buy the new piece of gear you’ve been desiring for so long, please get it a few weeks before that fantastic trip you have been planning and not the day before. There is nothing more frustrating in life than trying to capture something you’ve been wanting to see for a while while fumbling with buttons and functions in a camera you just acquired and are not sure how to use. New gear, just like a new lover, takes time to reveal itself to you and while the process can be super exciting, don’t expect it to perform at its fullest potential the day you meet each other for the first time 🙂 Take a moment to get know it, learn its secrets and test it out before you commit fully. You never know whether you’ll be compatible for good 😉 To illustrate my point a little more concretely, all the photos in this post have been taken with my camera phone. It truly isn’t the gear, but the photographer and her vision that make great work. Keeping in mind some rules of composition and knowing how to read light correctly can transform your photos, even when using a simple point and shoot camera. Please let me know what you think and share this post with anyone you think might find it useful! Onwards my friends! ***all photos taken with iphone X

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Goals vs Resolutions: Which One Will You Choose?

Megan Kwasniak — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 14:40:40 +0000

Happy New Year everybody! I cannot believe we are here already, at the start of a new decade. Although not much of a New Year’s Eve socialite, I do love to use the very first day of a new year to reflect a bit and to set goals for the future. I have much to be grateful for as I say good bye to 2019. I have visited many beautiful places, been recognized for my photographs, met many wonderful people and strengthened my relationships with the ones already present in my life. I have accomplished some very important goals which in turn has given me courage to keep going and keep aiming high. Of course I could not have done any of this without the support of my wonderful family and friends and all of you my readers, who give me the necessary push and encouragement to keep going in this endeavor. I want to take this opportunity of welcoming the New Year to talk a little about New Year’s resolutions. For a very long time, I used to be the person that would enthusiastically set some very ambitious ones as soon as January 1st hit, only to completely forget them by the time next month rolled in. It left me feeling frustrated and annoyed with myself. I couldn’t quite figure out why it was so easy to make these resolutions but yet even easier to abandon them at the first opportunity. It wasn’t until I started going deep and doing research that I realized where the crux of the problem is. In a gist, what I realized is that New Year’s resolutions tend to be quite…vague. We make promises to each other to be more fit, eat less junk food, lose the weight, call our mothers more etc…But these statements are mere expressions for what we wish to happen without any actual specifics on how to bring them into reality. This is why most New Year resolutions don’t work – they don’t include a concrete plan on how to achieve them! And without any concrete plans of execution, things tend to fall apart the moment we start feeling less motivated. Instead of resolutions, I started to set specific goals for the coming year. Goals imply a much more specific blueprint for action. There is a popular saying going around online whose author is long forgotten but whose words resonate loudly: “A dream without a plan is just a dream. A dream with a plan becomes a goal.” Or something like that 😉 The point being is that when we write down our desires for what we wish to accomplish in the coming year in a specific and intentional way, we are much more likely to stick it out and bring it into fruition. For example, instead of proclaiming, “In 2020 I will finally lose the weight,” narrowing down how much weight we want to lose and by what day we will lose it can truly help propel us in the right direction. This can be further broken down into specific steps we need to take to make this goal achievable. I will use my own goal as an example to illustrate this concept. Usually it goes something like this: In 2020, I’m committing myself to continue my South Beach photography project for the next twelve months. I plan to go down to South Beach at least twice monthly to shoot for two hours. I commit to go over my images with my dear friend Sonia who will hold me accountable to my goal. By the end of the year, I will have collected at least a 1000 images as part of the project. The other important aspect of goal setting is going deep into ourselves and asking the big WHY. Why do I want to start a photography project? Is it because I want to get motivated to shoot more? To hone my skills as a photographer? To get published in a magazine? To share the uniqueness of South Beach with other people through my photography? Asking ourselves the why and answering it honestly helps us stay motivated when things get busy and remind us of the bigger purpose behind what we are trying to achieve. Of course no plan, no matter how detailed or specific, absolutely one hundred percent guarantees that we will stick to it, but becoming more concrete and intentional breaks our seemingly grand goals into small specific steps that are much more easily manageable. I must tell you, since I’ve started doing this, I have been able to achieve most of what I’ve set out to do. And I’m just at the beginning of it all. As my research has shown me, most of those people whose work I admire have been using this method successfully to achieve their own dreams and resolutions. Personally I have several goals that I’d like to achieve in the coming year. I had sat down on the morning of New Year’s Day with a cup of steaming coffee in my hand and wrote down all that I’d like to see happen in 2020. I plan on revisiting this list quite frequently, tweak it as necessary and hold myself accountable to my achievements. I hope to see you do the same. May 2020 be a year of accomplishment, gratitude and fulfillment, no matter how small or grand our goals are. *** pictures taken last year in the Swiss Alps, one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Funny enough, I realized I never got to posting these pictures before ***

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Portraits from Sri Lanka: Approaching Strangers as a Photographer

Megan Kwasniak — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 17:34:16 +0000

“It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanness.” The above quote by the famous photographer Paul Strand has immediately become my favorite. People photography remains the top genre I like to immerse myself in. I also think it is one of the most anxiety provoking areas for most photographers, sometimes even the well experienced ones. As long as I can remember, I have always been drawn to the human face and the joy it gives me when I make a portrait of someone. Whenever I travel, I am constantly observing and searching for that person who draws my attention and whom I suddenly long to photograph. Sometimes that desire is so strong it stops me in my tracks. I am not ashamed of this realization; I let my body language reveal the fascination with the person I desire to photograph. Some find it silly, some curious. Either way, most of the time, they inquisitively pause long enough for me to grab my chance at photographing them. Most of the time, it helps me. Whenever I see a person I’d like to take a picture of, some logistical options quickly run through my mind: do they seem approachable? What is the likelihood they’ll agree to be photographed? If they do agree, am I in the right place to photograph them? Is the background complimentary or will it distract from the portrait? Is the person willing to move somewhere else if such is needed? I summon all my courage while quickly scanning these questions in my head. Most of the time I just go for it: I look my potential subject firmly in the eyes, smile and either simply raise my camera up in a gesture of approval or ask for permission directly. This process never occurs without at least some form of anxiety on my part, despite having approached hundreds of people over the years. But as I have written previously on this topic, approaching strangers on the street does get a little easier with time and the only true formula on overcoming anxiety associated with it is to just go for it. If the thought of approaching a stranger for a portrait scares you, here are some additional techniques I implement that help me with my angst: Practice taking portraits of people you already know and are comfortable with then slowly move on to friends of friends and ultimately strangers. Making images of those who know you and trust you solidifies your foundation as a photographers and helps you master all those skills that will come in handy when anxiety takes over your mindset. Engage in small conversations before you take a photo. Some photographers may disagree with me on this in the concern that doing so will break the moment of spontaneity. However, what I have discovered over the years is that engaging in conversation creates better connection with my subject and actually facilitates the shooting process. What may have initially been an awkward snapshot of a person now becomes a much more genuine portrait that does indeed reveal something intimate about the person being photographed. I’ve discovered that people are much more likely to open themselves up to me if we exchange a few friendly words beforehand. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. If you want your subject to move next to certain background, just do so. If you want them to look more poised or serious instead of too smiley, gently guide them in that direction. In my opinion, it is absolutely okay to do so. This is about making of a portrait, not shooting a street scene. If your intention is capturing whatever is in front of you exactly as it is seen, then these guidelines are not applicable. However, if you are looking to make portraits of people you meet on your travels or while exploring the new surroundings, then they certainly do apply and will help you achieve your vision more clearly. Make the best portrait that you truly can make in that moment. You owe your subject at least that much for their time. Take more than one photo and compliment the person you’re photographing. Once you get the person’s permission, it would be a waste to just take one mediocre snapshot and walk away. If your subject feels appreciated and believes the images are reflecting their true self, they will reveal themselves to be genuine and true to the story. I am not saying to compliment people for the sake of complimenting. I am saying that if what you see in your viewfinder is reflective of your original vision, then you are certainly on the right tract and your subject should be aware of that. I frequently will comment that something looks great if it really does and such form of encouragement is often all people need to hear to feel good about the encounter. Lastly, just go for it! Seriously guys, just do it. What is the worst that can happen? Someone will say no? If they do, just thank them anyway and move on. The world will still be there. You will not die of embarrassment. As my wise dad would say, the soup will still taste the same at dinner. Even in dismissal, all is well and as it should be. According to Jia Jiang, a famous “rejection guru” and the author of the book Rejection Proof: How I beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection, getting rejected is often not about us, but about the person rejecting us. It has more to do with their own fears and anxieties than our work as photographers. The book is a truly fascinating introspection into the mechanics of rejection and I highly recommend it. Or if you don’t have the time to read it, google a youtube video of Jia’s famous TED talk. It will change your perspective on approaching strangers, I promise 🙂 I hope these simple techniques will help you guys overcome the fears of photographing strangers at least a little bit. Do you find these suggestions useful? If you have any additional insight, please share! We could all use a little encouragement on the topic that keeps haunting even the most seasoned of photographers.

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