cordellwillis wrote:
Depends on your view, but you do know many states allow gay marriages. What then? Do you still kiss "the woman"....I'm not judging, just asking
well as a man he should know how men likes it therefor do it even better in that case, right?
What Hoffer said. Acknowledge the awkwardness of it. Let them know that even you, when in front of, and not behind, the camera feel awkward.
I tell people to roll their shoulders, shake their arms, and smile. Big breath. A little oxygen does a body good.
I also tell people that usually when I direct/pose someone to do something or I put them into a situation, it's okay if it feels a little awkward. I remind them that what I tell them to do isn't something they'd normally do. I say, "I'm going to tell you to stand tall, chin out and down, I want to to cross this arm like this, point your toes and... You'd never normally do this. But I promise, it'll look great." After I snap the first few pictures, I show them a sample on my screen. I've never had anyone say anything less than "Wow!" or "awwwwww". Then the trust begins.
As for the very first thing I do with my couples, I "stole" a move from Jose Villa. He has the couple stand shoulders square to the camera. Hold hands. Close their eyes. And on 3 he tells them to try to kiss. People always miss. If they miss, they laugh. SUPER good candid moment. Also a great opportunity to laugh WITH them and build that friendship/relationship. Then they know that you're with them, and not analyzing them and being critical. If they happen to land the kiss, I run up, high five them, and tell them that almost no one can do that, and they get all excited.
you know you could really have some fun with this depending on how at ease people are... if they are not at ease, you could tell them something so totally unexpected and just watch them to see what they do, they will probably start cracking up. I think this is a great discussion. I like to spend some time with them before the shoot, normally I work on this at our first meeting.... and I also send them a pre-shoot document about what our goals are, what they can do to make the shoot and images turn out better, etc. When they convey concerns to me, we talk about things that can help make it better. On one recent shoot, I even sent them a youtube link to address concerns about posing to offer some tips, I didn't create the video, but it was from another photographer.
