Features of a photoshoot for teenagers
Published: 15.11.2019
Teenagers want to look like their peers and adults in fashionable glossy magazines and pictures on social media.
In order to resemble happy and successful people, they are willing to stand dressed under an icy waterfall, be surrounded by surfboards, and hold a drooling English bulldog in their hands. Teenagers enjoy thinking about the funniest and craziest things: "Hey, I want to borrow an old truck and a goat and pretend I'm a country bumpkin." Make sure to capture the sincerity of teenagers in your photos.
Where to start
Start with a conversation. It doesn't matter how teenagers look or what you think about them. What matters is what they want. Even if you are a professional photographer with years of experience, and know better than anyone how to take pictures, you will have to listen and pay attention to teenagers. Remember that in a few years, these boys and girls could be your doctor or lawyer.
Do not underestimate teenagers. Beneath their smooth skin, serious feelings are raging. Just listen to them, and it will be easier for you to conduct the filming.
Let them know that you are on their side.
Find common ground. Share something about yourself with them, something short and preferably funny. According to Dale Carnegie, the author of the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People," people like talking to those who are similar to them. Let your inner teenager, whom you have hidden inside for so many years, come out.
Time to take photos
Start taking photos as soon as the teenagers feel comfortable. Make them focus on something, but not on the shooting itself. For example, have them jump and turn towards you in mid-air so that the wind lifts their hair. This approach will help teenagers relax and have fun.
Accept every action of a teenager as correct. A compact flash card, unlike film, is inexpensive, so take photos of everything. You can always delete a bad picture later.
Before starting shooting, take a couple of test shots to set the exposure.
Create a Light album from cool photos. You don't need to print the photos separately. We will print your photos directly on the pages of the Light album. Upload images to the free Mapi7 editor and create a themed Light album. You can upload photos from your phone.
After each shot, do not look at the back of the camera. And most importantly - do not show teenagers the shots taken right away. During the photoshoot, they should be occupied with themselves. What is captured in the frame at the moment should not bother them. If you show them part of the footage taken, it will definitely throw off their mood.
Take pictures as if for family
When photographing teenage girls, make sure you are not only shooting for them, but also for their families. No parent wants their daughter to look too sexualized. So, photograph the teenager, not a model for "Maxim.
Be careful not to take more than a polite picture of a girl standing right in front of the camera. Make it a rule to only take poses that won't embarrass your mother or children. In other words, always take a picture as if it's for family members.
Experiment
Ask teenagers to take a picture of you without giving them any posing instructions. The result of this experiment will be an increased trust from teenagers towards you.
During the photoshoot, talk to teenagers about silly things and capture their reaction to your words.
Capture the curves of the body
In the family archive of older people, there will definitely be at least one photo of "standing at attention with hands on the sides." Unfortunately, the photo of "playing soldier" evokes too few positive emotions.
The general empirical rule is that if there is a joint, it should have a bend. Believe me, bends look great on camera, even if it seems strange. Besides, all teenagers are very flexible and elastic.
Oh, these boys
Boys are cunning little rascals. That's a fact. Treat them conspiratorially. Once you make them laugh, they're yours. If they don't laugh, you're in for a long day.
To make the boys look more masculine in the photo, suggest poses where the shoulders appear broad and the waist narrow. Encourage them to hide their nervousness by pressing their lips together. Advise them to slightly open their mouths, lowering the bottom lip.
Allow them to prepare for the photoshoot on their own. Teenagers really care about their appearance. Their outfits, hairstyles, makeup, and nails may not always be suitable for adults, but they are perfect for them. That's why you can shoot the cover of Vogue with teenagers every day.
They can style their hair with hairspray or simply wet it, tie it back in a ponytail or push it back, wear a hat or a baseball cap. They can bring their own tools or sports equipment. Encourage the daredevils, support the modest ones. Experiment with different shooting angles.
Cool photos deserve unique framing. Print your cool photos in a polaroid style. Fans of instant photography from the 90s may experience familiar feelings when holding a polaroid-style photo in their hands. For those unfamiliar with traditional polaroids, square images with space for captions will be to their liking.
Enjoy
Offer teenagers unconventional ideas: swing on swings (keep the exposure at 1/250 or higher to freeze motion), jump around a tree, strike a serious pose, gaze into the distance, push a friend into the water, pretend to be a fashionable model.
It doesn't matter what teenagers actually do when you suggest a particular pose. Don't ask them what they want to do, because you won't get a clear answer. When asked about the photo shoot, teenagers will either get nervous or look at you as if you are crazy. You may even hear, "I don't know, YOU are the photographer.
And indeed, you are the photographer. Therefore, you must tell them what to do and which way to turn if their hair is falling on their face, if there is lipstick on their lips, or if a bra is peeking out. And you must definitely praise them when they do something great. That's your job.
Teenagers are scared and feel awkward to smile into the black hole of the camera, so make the photoshoot fun, interesting, and everything will turn out great.
