John Kung

When I shoot for magazines I often deal with subjects who are very busy, and can only spend a short about of time in front of the lens. Often I don’t get to see the location before the shoot, and only get a few minutes (if that) to have a look at my surroundings before I meet the subject and set up for the shoot. During that time you’ve got to find a nice area, set up your gear, check the light, and maybe you have colour balance issues, space issues, time issues… and then you have to pop off a nice shot. Talk about pressure!

With all that floating around in your mind it can be so easy to forget the very most important thing you need to do at this time. It doesn’t have anything to do with gear, doesn’t have anything to do with location, it doesn’t even have that much to do with light. But if you forget, it can make the difference between a serviceable image and a great image.

And what is this magic ingredient? Rapport.

This is the most, most, most important thing you need to do when shooting people. It doesn’t matter if your lighting is great and the location is great, if your subject looks like they hate you, you won’t get a nice shot!

Seems obvious, doesn’t it? But when the pressure is on that’s the first thing that goes out the window. This is especially important for busy people — if you get them on your side, and they’re enjoying themselves, you’ll get a better shot faster, and they’re less likely to mind if you take a bit longer to get a better shot.

I start building rapport as soon as I meet the subject, give them a big smile, and just try to ease them into it. It’s quite daunting to have someone come in with all the gear and point a big black box in your face and ask you to smile, so I try to keep it light, make a few jokes (obviously nothing even remotely offensive!), and try and get them to smile. Then I like to give them an overview of what I will be doing and explain each step of the process, and generally try to include them in the process, rather than just calling them when you need them. Ultimately you want to get something from the subject (their picture), so it’s only fair you give them something back (some insight into how to make that picture).

Of course, it’s not a lecture, so the other side is to get some information from your subject too. I like to ask them about their job and learn a little about what they do as well. Be careful not to pry — keep your questions fairly general, you don’t want your subject to feel as though they are being interrogated. And learn to see when the conversation is about to hit a dead end, and be ready to switch to another subject.

Body language plays a big part as well, where possible try to make eye contact, even if you are setting up lights or tripods or taking light meter readings, look interested and engaged in the conversation. And be sensitive to different cultures, some cultures regard excessive eye contact as being aggressive, which unsettles your subject even more.

Most of this stuff is common sense, but it’s easy to forget in the hustle-bustle of a shoot. Just remember that having good rapport with your subject makes your job easier and helps you get a better image, and all it costs you is a chat and a smile!