Western Producer photojournalist Michael Raine drops something, usually
a pen. As he bends down to pick it up, he “accidentally” kicks it with
his foot instead. By the time he has finished this stumbling slapstick,
his photographic subject is feeling much less self-conscious.
Tricky, isn’t it? But Raine says it works much better than “say
cheese!” when he wants a photo of a smiling subject.
Amateur photographers take note, because smiles and open eyes are a
challenge for everyone.
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In the news business, relaxation rather than merriment is often the key
to evocative photography. Randy Fiedler shoots for the Red Deer
Advocate and is a frequent contributor to the Producer. He doesn’t
always want a smile from his subjects, since their mugshots might
accompany stories of a serious nature.
“I just ask them to be themselves,” says Fiedler. “I find that being
honest with people and opening up to them is far and away the best way
to get them to open up to me.”
Portrait photographer Sandy Black of Brandon, also a sometime Producer
shooter, agrees that chitchat loosens people up. Individuals and small
groups tend to smile easily, he says, but it can be tricky with large
groups.
“Sometimes I say ‘cheese’ just because it’s cheesy, but I don’t like
using it.”
Another photographer, speaking on condition of anonymity, used to shout
“say sex!” when snapping the shutter at family gatherings. That ended
when prints showed toddlers looking confused, adults looking bemused,
adolescents looking repulsed and grandparents looking embarrassed.
Photographers who frequently shoot large groups often have a batch of
one-liners ready should the occasion require.
Not everyone is good at that, says Raine, who counts himself in the
latter group. He compensates through references to the vertically
challenged and the width enhanced while he directs the standing and
seating arrangements.
And how do professional photographers handle the perennial lament,
“don’t take my picture, I’ll break the camera”?
Says Fiedler: “No you won’t, because you’re not a politician and you’re
not wanted by the law.” He says that usually relaxes people, even
politicians and fugitives.
And if people don’t like the way a photo turns out?
“I photograph them as they are, not necessarily as they see
themselves,” says Fiedler. “That’s the difference between news
photography and portrait photography.”
