Foto Friday #3- Have Fun

Straight off the bat, I must say I have been enjoying Foto Friday. I look forward to posting these and hopefully they are helpful, or at least mildly amusing. Thanks for those of you that have sent in topics that you would like addressed in future Foto Friday posts, I'll be getting to yours in the coming weeks.

THIS WEEK'S TIP- HAVE FUN. While this may seem so common sense that perhaps some of you are rolling your eyes and moving the mouse toward the X on your google reader, hold your proverbial horses. There are many different types of photographers out there- some most enjoy taking landscapes and beautiful scenery, others enjoy taking product shots, me?- I like people. In photographing people- whether senior portraits or engagements or families or weddings, I cannot over-emphasize how important having fun is.

The concept of fun and photography goes way back for me. When I was a kid, I didn't view photos as fun. My experience with it was primarily when a photographer was telling me to tilt my head this many degrees and angle my body that many degrees. I'm playing with G.I. Joes and you're busting out geometry on me? Bless my parents for their patience with me during those days. If you peruse back through the Blakey photo album from earlier in my childhood, the pictures that don't include me making a goofy face are few and far between.

Why did I make goofy faces? It was my way to make the process of having my picture taken fun. And the fun has stayed with me...

But here's the deal- I believe fun to be so important to my photography that I've included it in my slogan- Classy and Fun. Why is it important- the photographs you take of people will be absolutely superior if the people that you are photographing are enjoying themselves. Like so many things in life, it's a concept that's easy to agree with but not always implemented. As an up and coming photographer, you may think the MOST important thing is your equipment or knowing your camera settings or marketing and branding yourself (if you're in business). I would contend that all those things are important but if you have all the technical knowledge but your subjects are uncomfortable and feeling awkward, your images aren't going to be very striking.

The most important thing for me these days at the outset of a photoshoot is to get the people having fun. Having fun relaxes them, having fun makes their expressions genuine, having fun makes them have fun.

So when you're photographing people, find the way to get them to have fun. It may be having them make goofy faces (works for me), or taking a picture of them jumping, or playing tag with a child, or telling a guy to whisper a joke into his fiance's ear. If you are going to be shooting a wedding, think about setting up an engagement session with the couple where they can get to know you and have fun in front of your camera, that way when the wedding day comes, you won't be an added point of stress, but rather a portion of their day that they will look forward to and enjoy and remember fondly as they look back at the pictures.

This week's tip- get out there and have some fun with your people. It will make your photographs better.

Until next week, stay Classy and FUN!!!