With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, love is in the air and couples want to be photographed. People get engaged and married everyday, so possessing the skills to shoot beautiful portraits of couples can be very profitable and a great way to grow your professional portfolio. However, photographing couples can get very repetitive in terms of posing and composition. Below, I go over a few tips to help you create flattering portraits that stand out from the crowd.
Take Your Time
When scheduling your photography sessions, make sure to allow a good chunk of time to work with. I never like my clients to feel rushed, having an extra 30-45 minutes in the session allows me to casually chat with them as I set up my equipment. Hurrying into shooting can make it challenging and more difficult to get the results you want. Taking a few extra minutes to connect with your subjects will help to build your rapport with them.
Never Stop Shooting
I often find that some of the best moments in an engagement session happen between poses. In order to take advantage of this, I like to set up a tripod and use a remote shutter release to trigger the camera. This allows me to quickly capture the intimate moments between my subjects when they think they aren’t being photographed. When you are working with a couple in love, the shots of them looking at each other are as magical as when they smile directly into the camera. Capturing those tender little moments that your clients are not expecting will only enhance the experience for them and will make you look good.
You should know the technique...Hey! I try to do artistic photos and I could tend to ignore technical knowledge, but I need it to get the result I have in my mind. Knowledge in photography gives you the ability to know when to shoot, where and perhaps to don't shoot at all if conditions aren't worth it. But that shouldn't keep you from having fun and experimenting. If I need to use an open aperture to get big 'bubbles', it is a simple formula: big flares in bokeh use an open aperture and a long lens.
Go Wide, Go Tight
For engagement sessions shot on-location, I often use a sweeping landscape of some kind like a beach, forest or park. I always choose a zoom lens like the Canon 24-105mm as it allows me to go wide and compose an impressive image while also being able to quickly zoom in for tighter shots that have a more intimate feel.
In conclusion, the best advice I can offer for shooting couples is to have fun. The more you enjoy what you do and embrace the process, the more your subjects will open up to you and trust you to capture the heartwarming shots they are hoping for. So get out there and get shooting!
Born and raised on the West Coast, Laura Tillinghast began making art at a young age. She explored many mediums until finally discovering photography when she was 17 years old. From that point on, she knew she had found the tool she was looking for to bring her imagination to life. Shooting primarily advertising and editorial content, you never know what you will find in front of Laura's lens. Whether it is a gorgeous model, a rock band or a bowl of oatmeal, she shoots with the same goal in mind; make it beautiful. See more of Laura’s work at her website: lauratillinghast.com
