Commercial portraiture should never be a Tug-of-war.
Who’s the boss?
Truth is that regardless of who you are, it’s not always easy to relax in front of a camera.
At the beginning of my career, I assisted an established commercial photographer who was shooting corporate headshots of the CEO of an international company. The CEO had a reputation for being very difficult when getting his photograph taken. The photographer believed the best way to manage the CEO was to be subservient. Naturally, the CEO claimed the status the photographer handed him.
Energetically, the photographer had relinquished his ability to chaperoned the CEO through a comfortable and managed process. With his insecurities unmanaged, his resulting behaviour was…less than agreeable.
The subsequent portraits, whilst technically beautiful, were of a man who didn’t want to be photographed, taken by people who didn’t enjoy taking his photograph.
It was an immensely valuable lesson. Because the exchange became about status, nobody’s needs were met. To get calm relaxed expressions in photographs and have an enjoyable experience, you need to be dealing with a competent photographer and feel that you are in safe hands to be able to relax in to the process.
I’m like Switzerland
As a commercial photographer, I have found that I'm able to present myself as status neutral. I get to be temporarily immersed in ever-different work environments and have very short-term working relationships with the people who inhabit them. Obviously, I need to follow the rules of the workplace but I am unencumbered by its inherent political structures. I am a neutral visitor with an “access all areas” backstage pass. This is the key that allows me to bend the conventions of how I would interact with each person I am photographing.
The trick is that I don’t enter into a power struggle in the first place. Energetically, I am acting along the lines of a helpful friend with a common goal. I try and approach every person I meet on-site on an equal footing, showing interest in everyone I meet, as a person. I’ve come to discover that some extraordinary humans hold very humble positions.
Keep it real
I am trying to build a rapport with my subject through mutual respect, which I back up with a generosity of spirit. Through a seamless transition from meet ‘n’ greet, to taking photos, I can divert the attention of my subject without offering an opening for them to fall into their patterns around getting photographed; everybody wins. All of this is built on a foundation of twenty-five years of technical photographic experience.
Regardless of what they present, most people feel vulnerable when getting their photographs taken, so empathy is vital. My role as a professional photographer is to provide an appropriate environment for my subjects to feel respected and safe. This opens the way for them to let down their guard to end up with well-executed photography with honest open expressions, made through an enjoyable process.
In the 25 years since the obstreperous CEO and I have photographed many thousands of people. Everyone from the very powerful to the disenfranchised, and it's immensely rare to have anything close to a bad vibe. I pride myself on the fact that some of the most hesitant people I have shepherded through the photographic process are surprised that they actually enjoyed the shoot AND like the photographs.