Have The Subject Help You Design The Shoot
Giving your clients plenty of say over how the shoot goes is key to helping them relax. Doing a bit of extra legwork beforehand, such as guiding them on outfits and locations, means they arrive already feeling invested and in control of much of the experience. The old advice that “communication is key” couldn’t be more true here. Taking the time before the shoot to make people feel genuinely heard is central to getting great images.
Treat Your Camera Like A Commonplace Object
Treating your camera this way helps couples forget it’s even there, well, almost. At the start of a shoot, spend as much time as you can chatting and relaxing with the couple before you even lift the camera. Hold it as casually as you would a cup of coffee. It might seem like a small thing, but clients take their cues from you, so treating the camera as something unremarkable helps them see it the same way.
Learn To Read People
Being able to read your clients helps them feel genuinely seen as individuals, and lets you adapt to their personality. In many ways, you need to be ready to give the client whatever they need from you to feel comfortable. Working out what your client responds to well is a fun balancing act, and a genuinely useful life skill too.