Ep 252: How to shoot memorable, meaningful and authentic photos

Do you want to know how to shoot memorable, meaningful and authentic photos? We mean photos that really connect with people on an emotional level, images that mean something to a viewer and that they will remember for years to come.

In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss how to interact with your subject, what you need to do when posing them, how to remain authentic yourself and the importance of “reading the room” and matching the energy for best results.

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Show Notes

Sicily photography tour

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Constructive critique

How to shoot memorable, meaningful and authentic photos

What makes a portrait memorable, meaningful and authentic? Why does it matter?

Memorable and meaningful

It’s the story behind the image that makes it meaningful.

Diego Frazão Torquato, 12-year-old Brazilian playing the violin at his teacher’s funeral. The teacher had helped him escape poverty and violence through music.


Image credit: salvemasnossascriancas.blogspot.com

A firefighter gives water to a koala during the devastating Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Australia, in 2009


Via Bored Panda 

Technique

  • Remember that one size doesn’t fit all.
  • Photograph the person, not the style
  • Find a background that supports what you are trying to say
  • Light in a style that flatters or brings out the features of the person you are photographing
  • Pose the person in a way that suits their body type and personality.
  • Learn the art of natural posting and give your model the confidence to “own’ the pose
  • A great pose flatters the body type but doesn’t overpower the person
  • Learn the art of posing different body types
  • There is nothing more inauthentic than a pose that the model doesn’t believe in such as:
    • glamour poses
    • the complicated model poses from high-end fashion pages won’t work with every body type
    • hands on hips and other confident poses without the matching energy
    • this creates a disconnect
  • Keep poses simple
  • Suggest poses and let your model interpret the pose with their own twist
  • Help give them the confidence to own it.

Read the room and match the energy

  • Learn to read non-verbal cues people give you
  • Most people will do what you ask them to and not tell you they feel uncomfortable or silly in a pose
  • They won’t tell you but they may show you with their energy and body language
  • Learn to tune into this
  • If the photographer is nervous and tentative your models will also be nervous and tentative
  • Master one go-to set up you can do confidently as a starting point.
  • Be decisive and confident.

Be 100% present and authentic

  • Connect and be authentic, talk open up be authentic
  • Watch out for the moments between frames
  • Learn how to get rid of photo face

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How to direct and pose like a pro

About Gina

About Gina

Gina Milicia is one of the most widely known and respected photographers in Australia. She is the master of capturing that ‘magical moment’... READ MORE

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