Approaching strangers to make their photographs is something I’m often asked about. There is a lot of curiosity about how to ask someone you don’t know to make their photograph.
Some believe there is some big secret, but there actually isn’t. The biggest challenge is not about how to ask, but rather getting past one’s own fear of rejection. But in my experience the great majority of people that I approach are willing to be photographed, because they are rather flattered by the attention.
If you exhibit good positive energy and are sincere in your approach, even with little more than a warm smile and a gesture, you’ll be surprised as what can happen. Here are seven suggestions that I hope you’ll find helpful for photographing strangers.
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Normen Gadiel is a a 29 year old creative that specializes in portraits. He sent us over a series that he did for a friend as a gift. “I did this together with a friend of mine. She wanted a special birthday present for her boyfriend. During talking about what we could make the idea (of) the vinyl covers was born because her boyfriend is (a) real fan of vinyls. There was (no) inspiration for it. We planned the (clothing, light, accessories and the right place.)”
This isn’t the first time this has been done before and many photographers have tried to take portraits without showing faces and they often turn out to be quite whimsical.
More from this series is after the jump. But be sure to check out more from Normen at his website.
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Mark Laita is a photographer whose recent, “Created Equal” project shows stark differences across different people. The country is comprised of folks from all walks of life and were carefully curated by Mark as he travelled the nation looking for the subjects. “I simply went to all areas of the U.S. and tried to find individuals that represented their region or culture best,” stated Mark when we asked him about the subjects he chose. He has turned the series into a book, which is described as exposing all the truths without the airbrushing.
When asked about the inspiration for the project, Mark stated, “I love characters and different cultures and portraits are such a great way to study people. I guess I was looking to make a photographic, anthromorphological collection of Americans.”
Here are a couple of selections from the project.
Via UFunk
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All images shot by Nicole Fara Silver and used with permission
Nicole Fara Silver has the job that many photographers dream about–she is a photographer for Rolling Stone magazine. Many that get into concert shooting eventually learn that making a living out of it requires a business plan, and Nicole was able to fulfill her dream and land a gig at one of the biggest music mags in her early 20s. A native NYC resident, Nicole has been shooting for years and started as an intern at the famous magazine where she then was hired to be a photographer for the company.
We were able to grab Nicole away from the stages and the studio for a bit to talk with her about photographing musicians.
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All images shot by Rachel McKenna. Used with permission
Rachael McKenna has been a photographer for over a decade and has always had a fascination with people, animals and travel. She is also currently sponsored by Hasselblad. But her latest project will have you smitten. The New York Dog Project is still a work in progress, as she is spending up to 6 months in the city this year to develop a collection of images that will showcase New York Dogs and their owners in her own personal style.
We had the chance to speak with Rachael about the project after meeting her recently in NYC.
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According to the latest report from the Wall St. Journal: parents are dropping some serious dough on photoshoots for their child’s High School Senior Portraits. Senior portraits are essentially mini-fashion shoots as it is, and parents are playing for makeup artists, locations, etc. The article states that, “Most photographers charge a session fee to shoot the pictures and then sell packages combining prints, albums and digital copies.” This fact is extremely interesting as the Wedding business (which I came out of) started to move away from prints and albums.
And although the $2,200 price tag isn’t extremely high given what some New Yorkers are willing to pay for many things, it is quite high for the country overall for something like this. Then again, photographers are making money on some weird things like shooting someone’s vacation.
Aspiring portrait shooters that want to make some extra money may want to get into this after reading the article.
