Fifteen Ways To Relax Your Subjects (without music or massage oil)

The greatest challenge facing portrait photographers is the anxiety people feel when they get in front of a camera. Here are a few lessons I've learned over the years that help me get the very best from my subjects:

1. Get them up so early in the morning that they're just too tired to be nervous.

2. Give your subject something to hold so they're not thinking about what to do with their hands. 

3. Many photographers get their subjects a little tipsy before shooting. While I'm not usually an advocate of this approach, if I'm gonna do it I don't mess around...

I might even join in myself...

...but not too much drinking or bad things can happen.

4. If alchohol's not your thing, ice cream is a good alternative. Gets the blood pumping. 

5. Encourage your subject to bring a friend or two...

...or a rock star.

6. If you're shooting an engagement photo, go back to the place where it all began. 

7. Kids hate to stand still, so don't ask them to. 

8. If you're shooting a group photo and they don't know what to do...

...have them try some silly stuff to loosen up. It will probably be the photo they love the most.

9. Encourage them to wear the clothing that suits them best.

10. If you ask your subject to do something dangerous...

...do it with them.

11. Respect their personal space. Get a long lens and shoot from really far away. Especially if you have bad breath.

 12. Show some enthusiasm for the photos. It will encourage them to go further.

13. If you're shooting outside and they complain about the cold weather, suffer with them in solidarity.

14. If they keep complaining, challenge them to a push-up contest. That'll warm them up.

15. Finally, tattoo this positive affirmation to your arm and refer to it whenever your subject says "No" to anything!

Life's a Circus

While in Paris for Dancers Among Us yesterday, Cirque Du Soliel juggler Basile Dragon contacted me on Facebook about a photo shoot. I had no idea what to expect, as juggling is terribly difficult to photograph. He turned out to be a fun and collaborative partner, and together we conceived of a clown taking a coffee break.

 

Even Basile wasn't immune to accidents (this one cost me ten Euro, which is like $2000 dollars in the US).

As I got to know Basile, his story fascinated me. These are his own words:

"When I was a 14-year-old kid in Paris, I met the 'Smallest Circus in the World'. I decided immediately that I wanted to live the circus life, and I started to juggle. When I was 18 I started training professionally, which means 6 to 8 hours of juggling every day (plus dance, contortion, trapeze, acrobatic, theater, etc). At 19 I was already working, mostly in the street and in any underground show I could find in Europe (plus training 6 hours every day).

At 24, I went to the Moscow Circus School in Russia to learn the Russian juggling technique, and I never stopped traveling the world to work with the best jugglers. I created my own juggling technique that takes into consideration the human body in general, and each juggler's body specificity. It is body friendly and made to allow me to juggle until I'm old (very old).

Around 27, I started to work a lot in Cabaret, Circus, Theater, Opera, etc. Probably 200 shows a year, and I was 'only' training 2 to 4 hours a day (you have to spare your energy for the show!). I've worked with so many companies around the planet that I can't count them!"

Sounds like an awesome career to me! To see Basile in action, take a look at these Vine videos I shot after our session:

Vine Video 1
Vine Video 2

Basile Dragon's Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/16Q9kL9

While You Were Sleeping: My Rock Star Adventures in Korea

Two weeks ago I flew halfway across the world to attend my first Dancers Among Us solo exhibition in Asia, and it blew my mind. The Savina Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul staged a flawless exhibit - three floors featuring 66 large-scale prints and two video rooms. Opening night was a lavish VIP affair, and I entertained the guests with a quick shoot featuring Korea National Ballet superstar ballerina Joo Won Kim and her partner, Jeong-yun Lee of National Dance Company of Korea.

Video of Opening Night

—

The media attention on Dancers Among Us surprised everyone. There have been over forty radio, television and magazine features in the Korean press thus far, and many more still to come. If you have time on your hands, you can see some of my favorite articles here: Korean Media.

TBS Radio

DongA Media

The Korea Times

—

I took a break from my rock star reception to photograph an actual rock star, Yoon Do Hyun, lead singer for YB, Korea's most popular band. Gathering the fans was the easy part - the crowd kept growing by the minute. We were finally stopped by security for causing a public disturbance.

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My Korean publishers, Sigongsa, have done a phenomenal job promoting Dancers Among Us. When I entered Korea's largest bookstore, Kyobo Bookstore Gwanghwamun, I would have been excited just to see the book face out. I had no idea there would be a glowing neon shrine. I photographed four dancers from Seoul Ballet Theatre: Younghyo Ma, Miri Lee, Minguen Song and Junghyun Lee, while a huge crowd stood behind a rope line to observe.  

—

I hooked up again with Joo Won Kim, this time with a new partner, Jong Suk Park of Pennsylvania Ballet. We spent the day together (along with a production team, a stylist, makeup artists, hair designers, two trailers, and a van) to shoot a ten-page feature for the September issue of Noblesse Magazine.  

—

My final event was Seoul Dance Project, sponsored by Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. I gave a talk and signed books before being welcomed with a three-story dance in my honor, ending on a rooftop garden. It was a perfect finale to a glorious week.

Thank you, Seoul. I've had my Beatles moment!

Where It All Began

Fifteen years ago I stood here, 1,500 feet above the sea at the top of Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park in Maine. 

I was holding a cheap camera and wondering how to take a nice photo of the landscape below. I had no idea, so I decided right then to enroll in my first photography course. It was the birth of an amazing journey that continues to this day. Last night, I returned to the spot where it all began, to shoot photographs fifteen years in the making.

This Little Girl Would Kick My Butt!

I met Ava Peterson this weekend in Chicago. She and her family drove several hours to see my presentation at Chicago Photography Center. Once I heard about Ava's journey, I asked if I could photograph her, which resulted in the image above. This is her story, as told by her mother:

That Ava is alive at all is no small wonder, let alone that she is a dancer. I learned during pregnancy Ava had a significant heart defect which would likely require open heart surgery upon birth.  When she was born we learned she had a few other defects:  missing kidney, underformed ears, malformed right hand, scoliosis, and we quickly learned she aspirated when she swallowed. She suffered a significant event at 8 weeks of age when she lost her heartbeat and respiration for over 45 minutes. Ava was fed by a stomach tube for the first five years of her life, has twice endured open-heart surgery, a tethered spinal cord surgery, and has a rod in her spine to correct her severe scoliosis. 

This, however, is not a tale of woe as this tiny dancer has not only survived all these events and more, she inspires many with her inner strength, unbelievable resilience and zest for living and dancing without looking back.

"I dance to express my individuality in all different directions. I know that we are here on earth for a reason so why not enjoy it? When you find something that speaks to you, seize it! That is exactly what I have done - I have a great passion for dance. Even when I'm not at the studio I am always moving... I just can't stop the rhythm! I am so glad I have found a beautiful way to express who I truly am inside. When you find an escape to cloud 9, pursue it! You will be glad!" - Ava Peterson, 13

Last year Ava began a project to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation because her friend suffers from the disease.  She has raised over $3000 leaping for sponsorships and plans to continue the project on an ongoing basis.  Check out her site:  https://www.facebook.com/CatchingAir