Last week, I had the chance to have some fun with a couple of creatives: Jeff Cains, and artist Lynne Dykins. I borrowed a concept from another photographer, who is quite famous, who shot one of my Rock heroes years ago (trivia: guess the photographer’s name and the person photographed).
Lynne, a painter, wanted something fun and no-traditional. Now, Lynne was a bit nervous about getting her picture taken. But all three of us hit it off quite well.
When doing a portrait session, we take a lot of pictures in succession. After we had been going for a while, Lynne wanted to know if taking that many pictures so quickly is actually worth it. “I mean,” she says, “is my expression change that noticeable?” Jeff and I both answered with a resounding “YES!”
As any parent can attest to, moods and facial expression shift quickly – in the blink of an eye. As photographers, we are trained to just keep shooting, especially during portrait sessions. It’s the fleeting ‘LIFE’ part of the person that makes images memorable, the personality, in between the poses. Some people HATE being posed. However, poses are a starting point. Like a picking an herb to season a main dish, it establishes the point from which to begin the rest of the creative process. After that, the creation takes on a life of it’s own. And THAT is what we live for.
