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Finding out what people want - part 2 of 1 2

by Ron Pybus Published 01/08/2007

I don't think I have ever done two sittings that look alike. I recently had twin sisters with their children who wanted a combined sitting; one wanted no props, the other wanted baskets, plant pots, toys, etc. The big trouble came when the no props child saw the other one with all the toys!

We try to keep as close to the customer's suggestions as possible, always allowing flexibility even within the agreed brief.

At the end of a sitting I always check that we have the sort of images that they want and the combinations of people that they want. It is no use them saying at the viewing stage that they would have liked one with 'x'. This needs to be checked at the time of the shoot.

You do need to persuade them of the value of certain groupings, such as the value to the child of having a picture of his or her parents at the time that the child is still a baby.

For model shoots and for sets of photographs of teenagers I always insist on a pre-shoot meeting. We discuss the objective of the photographs and I lend them books of cuttings from magazines and suggest they bring their own magazines along to the shoot. The cuttings are taken from the magazines that they read, because these are the ones that influence their thinking.

They can decide which poses they like and bring appropriate clothing. Poses are never copied, but always adapted to approximate the style or particular image that the person has selected. Lending them a cuttings book full of images means that they become even more excited as the actual day of the shoot draws near.

Next time - taking photographs that sell and the viewing process

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1st Published 01/08/2007
last update 09/12/2022 14:54:16

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