How To Get Natural Expressions From Couples During Portrait Sessions

Have you ever wondered why sometimes you look at an image of a couple and even though the scenery is beautiful or the lighting is amazing, somehow, it’s just….blah? For some reason, it just doesn’t make you feel anything.

To me, a powerful image is one that makes a viewer feel something. One that makes you believe that the message it’s trying to convey is real. For wedding photographers, that message is Love.

Love. Now you should ask yourself, “How can I show the Love between a couple? After all, they are getting married, right?”. We all see the world differently so we’ll all have different interpretations on what that would be. To me, I see Love when a couple cuddles. When they laugh at each other’s jokes. When they hold each other’s hands and pretend like they’re all alone. It’s all in their expressions. That’s how I see the world. So that’s what I want to show.

Easier said than done.

Unless your clients are actors or are used to having their photos taken, most people will feel intimidated at having a huge lens pointed at them. If you don’t have a good connection with your clients or if you haven’t addressed their issue of being uncomfortable in front of the camera, that wide-eyed “I don’t know what I’m doing” look is going to show. Their faces are going to look awkward regardless of how fabulously they’ve been posed. And when that happens, that image is no longer believable. It’s just going to be a photo of two people standing/sitting/hugging. Not an image of two people who are absolutely in love with each other.

To get your clients give you their natural expressions during their portrait sessions, here is my step-by-step process that I’ve picked up over the years and have helped me achieve that goal.

Step 1. Talk to them.

I’m probably the most introverted person you’ll ever meet.  When I do photograph clients however, I’d be doing more talking than I’ve ever done all week. If this quiet person can do it, then you have no excuse. Find out how they met, the details about their first date. Build rapport so they can trust you before you bring that camera out. Make them feel safe and assure them that you know what you’re doing and that they’re going to have fun. Because you’re going to make sure they’ll have fun.

Step 2. Instruct them on how to pose.

Build your client’s confidence on you by telling them what to do. In their minds, you’re the professional photographer so you should be instructing them on how to pose. Because they won’t know. Posing them properly will also assure your clients that they will at least look flattering.

I’m not going to do an in-depth write-up on posing here because there are so many instructors out there who are way better than me when it comes to this topic. Jerry Ghionis’s Ice Society is a good resource. Everything I’ve ever learned on posing, I’ve learned from Jerry. If you’re looking for a book on posing, Roberto Valenzuela’s  Picture Perfect Posing: Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and Models is a must. Seriously, you’re not doing yourself a favour if you skip out on reading his book. It’s Holy Grail for wedding photographers.

Step 3. Make them react.

Once you have them posed the way you wanted, it’s now time to get the expressions you need to make your image believable. I had a hard time learning this myself. I usually joke around and try to make them laugh. But what I’ve found that worked for me was to ask questions, especially if you don’t have that many jokes in your arsenal. It’s pretty much a technique I learned from the Beloved Collective . I just made it my own to reflect my comfort level and  how I interact with my clients.

If I want my couple’s expressions to be happy/laughing, I’ll ask them silly things or make them do silly things. Like:

– If _____ was a superhero, what super power would _____ have?

– If _____ life was made into a movie, what kind of soundtrack would it have?

– Tell _____ about how you remember your first date with him/her. 

– Sing her a love song.

If I want my couple’s expressions to be more emotional to a lack of a better term, I ask them emotion provoking questions. Don’t start with these questions first though. Use these at the  later part of the session.

–  Tell ____ the moment when you realized that he/she’s “the one”.

– Tell ____ how you felt when he proposed.

– Pretend it’s 50 years from now and that they’re celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. What would they want to reminisce?

The object of these questions/instructions is to get them to react. Whatever expressions these produce, it’s going to be genuine to them as a couple. And getting genuine expressions is gold.

Step 4. Once they react, shoot the s**t out of it. 

So you have them posed. You got them to react the way you want. What do you do next? You shoot the s**t out of it. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my wedding photojournalist mentors at the Foundation Workshop, it’s that.

You’re probably confused by what I meant. Shooting the s**t out of something means taking several frames when an action is happening and not stopping until the action is finished.When you shoot several frames at once, you’ll have the luxury later on to choose which expressions look best and determine which one portrays the Decisive Moment. As opposed to just shooting one frame, where you may or may not get the moment.

This is not the “Spray and Pray” technique mind you. Spray and Pray suggest just shooting willy nilly without thought. Shooting the s**t out of it has purpose. I wish I have a better term for it though.

There you go! Hopefully this process was easy enough for you to try out and make it your own. Let me know your thoughts on the Comments Section below!