Asking random strangers to take pictures of you can be challenging especially if they don't capture the picture you were hoping for, and that can be frustrating. In this blog, I will reveal to you the 3 type of people you should be asking to take your pictures, how to approach them, and a few tricks on how to get them to take the exact shot you’re after.
Before we get into it, here are things to keep in mind: pictures are always amazing during daylight, sunlight makes for an amazing filter and makes your pictures pop more. know your angles, your lights, and have signature poses. Even having only one signature pose comes in handy when you don't know what kind of pose to make. Now that we got the basics over with, let's get into it!
Make eye contact and smile
Making eye contact will rule out who don’t care to engage, people that want to be left alone, or want to avoid you so you know exactly who not to ask. It's that easy! A friendly smile is attractive so if you are making eye contact don't forget to smile. It makes you more likable and people will be more willing to help you.
Approach, Ask, Introduce yourself, Converse
Always smile that makes you very approachable and it makes it hard for people to say No. Also, you never want to catch them off guard with a photo request. Instead of walking over to someone and just asking: “hey, can you please take a photo of me?” throw in a few extra words in there and introduce yourself in the process. Here is how I do it, I usually approach a couple and ask: "Hey sorry to bother you guys, but would you guys mind taking some pictures for me like over here?" and they usually always say "yes, sure, of course, no problem,etc." Then I quickly follow it up with "Thank you so much! By the way, I am Rhodie." and they will then introduce themselves and it usually leads to more conversation. It's that simple and breaks the ice immediately! Just by throwing in a few extra words you might end up making new friends, you never know!
Take their pictures FIRST
Majority of the time people will ask you to take their pictures after they are done with yours. Whether they took good or horrible pictures of you. To avoid that from happening, you always want to take their's first, and use the pictures you took of them as a reference to show them the frame you are looking to capture. What I like to do is target people that are taking selfies, so I will kindly approach them and ask them if they want me to help and I will do the whole squat down, move left, right, up, down and capture amazing pictures of them. It shows that I cared and gave effort. And what goes around, comes back around.
Give direction
Explain to them exactly how you want it and what you will be doing. I usually ask them to take a few from different angles, and if I will be moving around, I will tell them to just go ahead and snap as many as they can that way I have more options to choose from. So don’t be afraid to give direction. Some people have shown me the pictures they’re looking to capture, and that always made it so much easier for me to take their picture because I knew exactly what they wanted and what I needed to do.
Set your Camera on auto or High-Speed and your iPhone on live & HDR
All cameras have some type of auto feature and to ensure that you have plenty of options is to use the high-speed shooting setting on your camera. This will also make things easier for the photographer. Have your iPhone camera set on live, HDR and grid. The reason why I am saying this is because when you set your phone on life it will automatically take multiple pictures. All you have to do is click on one picture, hit edit and you can easily select your favorite.
Say Thank You!
Be polite and never forget to say "Thank you!" This simple phrase is honestly super powerful! If you want to be more appreciative, sugar coat it. I always smile and say "Thank you so much, these are amazing!" and that makes them feel really good. Your smile is a reward as it is. So use it!
3 type of people you should be asking to take your pictures
1. Millennials
Not only do we love helping others with their photos but we have an understanding of getting the right lighting, get the right angles, how to hold a camera steady for a good shot, posing, and the kind of frames we take photos in. Our generation loves taking pictures and we always make an effort to take pictures of others like it’s our own and that’s why you should never hesitate to ask them.
2. People with professional Cameras
Personally, I go for the ones with professional gears. They normally know how to take photos and that is who you ideally want to target. I normally go for people that aren't in a rush or with a crowd, or someone who has just taken a photo themselves. Keep in mind some people that have cameras aren’t always professionals or the best picture takers. Some are amazing and some not so much.
3. Tour guides
You don’t necessarily need to be on a tour to take an advantage of this. When you see them alone approach them and ask. It's as simple as that. Trust me, they know how to take pictures really well! Sometimes, they will even give your suggestions on what to do.