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| Photograph relationships, not just people. |
People could be a group of individuals with nothing more in common than belonging to the Homo sapiens club. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it is our common history, genetics, and interests which facilitates relationships. People bond, they develop friendships, and they become part of each other's lives. When possible, I like to shoot that relationship.
The above photo was taken at a wedding I shot yesterday. I do not know much about the people in the shot, but you don't have to. The way they are interacting tells you a lot. They have a common history, they enjoy the company of the other, and they are at ease together. Whatever their particular relationship, it is clear that they are friends. Maybe they are related, maybe they are neighbours, maybe they have been friends since grade school. None of that matters, what matters is the relationship they have.
If I took the above image, cropped it so that it was just individual faces, and presented each one with a shot of themselves, we could probably predict what their reactions would be. Few people like to see pictures of themselves. We tend to be overly critical of the way we look. There is always something negative to focus on. On the other hand, give each one the shot above and you will have a different reaction. It is not a shot of people pers say, it is a photo of a relationship.
When you are shooting an event with an aggregation of people, look for relationships. Look for natural groupings which occur. You can even prod some by asking them to find someone to be in a photo with them. "Can I take a picture of you?" is much more daunting and uncomfortable than, "Can I photograph the two of you together?" People care about relationships. Use that to improve your photos.
Thanks for reading.
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