Photography of People

France
   

June 27, 2008
By Ashley Fredrickson

 

During the second week of our study abroad class in France we learned more about the photographic concepts of shooting people, strangers at close range and more posed photography for comp cards. I enjoyed shooting strangers at the market but I felt my pictures from the photo session with our classmates brought out more emotion from the person featured. The strangers conveyed a sense of emotion, but it was a confused look most of the time, while our photo shoot showed emotions such as laughter, seriousness and sometimes even frustration.

Some of my shots of my partners looked alive, and I think that is a very important aspect of people photography. A viewer of photographs want to feel present, like they were there at that very moment and they could predict exactly what that person was thinking and feeling. My photographs of my partners show that. One thing that photographers can learn from having photo shoots like these is the importance of relating to your model and making them feel at ease. This, in the end, is what makes a great photograph, because when they are comfortable they will laugh and show their emotions, making your pictures unique in many different ways.