portrait photography and patience, the katie session
For those of you in the know, it is Championship Sunday as I write this and one of the biggest story lines of the playoffs has been Le'Veon Bell and his unique running style. If you happen to be around the t.v. while the Steelers are on today, take a listen and see if you can count the number of times you here the word "patience" in reference to Mr. Bell. Please don't make a drinking game out of it, because with Phil Simm's behind the mic, it will be every other word out of his mouth when the Steelers have the ball and you would be well on your way to being toasted by the end of the 1st quarter. But outside of that digression, Mr. Bell truly does have a unique way of running with patience and if I may be so bold, I am going to use him and his style as my segue into this lovely Senior Session with Katie.
Patience is not a virtue that comes naturally to me, but through the 7 years of professionally taking photos I have come to value patience and understand how integral it is to how we do business and structure our photo shoots. I like to meander a bit, and if I am honest, the first couple of shots we take I know will probably be throw away shots. The first portion of any photo shoot for me is about establishing a connection with the client and letting them get comfortable with me and my style as well as letting them get comfortable with themselves and what I am asking them to do. It's silly to think that from the get-go that who we are shooting has done this before.
There is a certain level of trust that needs to be developed because the first 20 minutes or so can be a bit awkward feeling for the client as they try and figure out what this big bearded goober with a gigantic camera cover covering his face is asking them to do. "Weight on your back hip. Light on your front foot. Throw your 'ass out the back' so it feels like your hip is about to dislocate. Push that shoulder back. Pull that shoulder forward. Tall through the neck, now chin forward and slightly down." Seemingly over and over again. Over here, then over there, now do it while you watch me awkwardly hang off a balcony, stairwell, parking deck, tree or whatever else I can climb on that is in my way or I can use to get a different angle. Wait, what?!?
But before you know it, we are off and running together. Well, walking at least as that is how we like to structure our sessions. Being in the studio is great, and has it's advantages for some things, but we like to walk. It gives us the time to connect and for you as the client to relax and express yourself, you know, the whole we are taking photos. The poses become more natural, and you may notice I have stopped coaching posing and things just seem to flow naturally. Naturally yes, but also painfully as many a client can attest to. You will get a workout, but it will be worth it. At least, that is our bet with you. Just be patient and be yourself.
So I have included for you here virtually all of the images in chronological order from our session with Katie and I think it perfectly illustrates what we try to do each and every session. Simply take the time, show the patience, and let you be you. And in doing so, you let us be us. It just takes a little patience. Well, that and a bunch of other stuff, but we'll cover that in some future blogs.
Interested in booking with us? Well, as of this writing we still are running our January Session Sale, details of which can be found here at the end blog. Thank you again for your time and we can't wait to work with you in the future!
Hair/Makeup-Rachel Biestman Website
Photography-Patrick Biestman