Expression trumps all in portrait photography

Thinking back to my first portraits often makes me cringe. I'm not even afraid to admit it now. My goal has always been to be a good portrait photographer, but I was incredibly shy and didn't know how to interact with the people in front of my lens. I have always been somewhat dissatisfied with my results, as I could never connect with my subjects on a level deep enough for them to let their guard down.

After a long period of trial and error, even perhaps with hands-on experience working, as well as paying close attention to the work of other photographers I admired, I finally found a method that worked for me. However, many of my early portraits looked like test shots with no trace of life at all, as my only goal was to make sure the photographs were properly lit and composed. In other words, capturing authentic expressions during a photo shoot didn't come naturally to me. At all. Not at all. But once I was finally brave enough to look at my work with a critical eye, I realized I had to turn my weakness into a strength.

I think this is a common problem for many photographers working today. Many photographers focus so much on lighting, composition, styling, etc., that they forget that they are photographing a human being and not a product. Don't get me wrong, those ingredients are absolutely important to the success of an image, but I would argue that a portrait without any trace of emotion is as good as dead. Also, I've seen several celebrity portraits posted with some motion blur or slightly lost focus that are successful because the person is animated. Interestingly though, this was more common when film was the photographic standard, and perhaps the more spontaneous or candid shots took priority over the obsession with perfecting the still image as we are so accustomed to today.

Two photographers I really admire arePeggy Sirota and Ben Watts for their incredible ability to bring out the best in their models and evoke emotions that no one else has. Seriously, look them up. They have a secret recipe, I have no doubt that it is. Even better, check out some backstage videos to see how they work and interact with their subjects. Precisely for this reason their work ends up month after month in the biggest magazines.

So how does a photographer bring out the best in a person during a photo shoot, you might ask? I won't claim to be an authority on this, but here are a few methods that have worked well for me so far:

• This first point is going to sound contradictory, but trust me on this one. Don't engage the model too much in conversation until you start taking pictures. Be polite, of course, but try to say the bare minimum until you've taken your lighting test shots and are ready to shoot. The main goal is to get to know them as the shooting progresses.
• Put them in a pose you like, and then talk to them. Talk about where they are from, their school or job, their ambitions, their favorite music, food, their love life, whatever. The point is to get the person in front of you to talk to you about whatever they are going to be engaging in so as to distract them from what they are doing right now, which is your photo shoot.

• Leave your ego at the door. Don't be afraid to be silly or tell embarrassing stories about yourself to make the person feel more comfortable. This may seem like a lot of work, but it's worth the extra effort in my opinion. For the record, it took me a long time to feel confident with this technique. Also try to avoid self-deprecating humor, as it can actually have the opposite effect if not done carefully, and yes, that too I know from experience.
• Energy is important and music helps. Always have a high-energy photo shoot playlist ready to go and ask the person being photographed if they have any music they would like to listen to while you shoot. Also try to avoid being hyper-caffeinated so the energy boost never becomes nerve energy.
• Keep an eye out for candid moments and get ready to capture them like a sniper. I've seen too many behind the scenes photo shoot videos posted online where the model has great expressions spread throughout the video, but the final images are kind of lifeless because the photographer wasn't paying attention to the natural expressions of the model or model.

If you're ready to tell me I'm wrong, let me prepare you by admitting that there are obviously some exceptions. Fashion photography is a prime example of a genre that doesn't necessarily have to prioritize vivid expressions to be successful. It could be argued that the person photographed in a fashion photography is simply an accessory of clothing, but I'll let others determine that.

Someone like the great Dan Winters is another exception. Not only does his images light up masterpieces, but he always seems to capture subtle yet quite powerful expressions that perfectly complement the overall mood of the photograph. It's not the only one, but it immediately comes to mind when I think of quiet thrills done right.

Not every image in a photoshoot needs to have a happy expression, but I strongly believe a shot is more successful with a wide variety of expressions in the bag. I am increasingly satisfied personally and the customer likes to have options. Just remember that every person is different and everyone expresses themselves in a different way. At the end of the day, the diversity of expressions in photographing different people will naturally add variety to your portfolio that viewers will gravitate towards. And that's a great thing.