This session is still one of my favorites today, for the simple reason that I have known this couple personally for a long time, and knowing how shy and introverted S is, I never would have imagined taking them out for a couple shoot someday.
To make things even more difficult, being aware of how intimate my style and photos usually are further increased his apprehension and feeling of exposure, vulnerability, and discomfort. I knew I would have to respect these feelings, take them into account the whole time and adjust to them, build trust, lead gently and direct with confidence if I wanted to capture moments and images that they could love and that would feel true to them and respectful of who they are.
This is one of the first photos from the session, and you can tell from the smiles that they are loosening up and starting to have fun, but still feel a little bit nervous. What I did to soothe resistance and apprehension was immediately suggest going to the beach.
For one because I knew this familiar environment would help them relax and take their minds off the camera, but also because the water, as a “lively” element, works for me in cases like this: when the water physically moves your body, your body language unconsciously adjusts to it, and so any stiffness you might have had because of camera shyness instantly disappears.
The water element is also a very playful one, it makes it easy to let loose, to tame your nerves by just splashing and fooling around, and having something to do makes people feel more in control, less vulnerable, less exposed, and from there I can get them to relax and lead them towards a more emotive and intimate space as the session progresses.
