Ottawa headshot photos & rocket ships? | Let me tell you a story. When my youngest son was a toddler he needed a CT scan at 3 in the morning. For a few reasons, sedation wasn’t an option. We needed the results of the CT scan but they couldn’t decide how to move forward. How could we expect a tired and overwhelmed 2 year old to lay still?
I told them I had an idea and asked if we could try and thankfully the staff at CHEO were willing to try just about anything for the scan to go ahead. In my most enthusiastic and dramatic voice I convinced my weary toddler that the machine was a spaceship. And the staff would let him ride it to see the stars but he had to lay very still and listen to everything they said. As I described all the sounds and moving parts and what they did in the space ship, they started the machine and miraculously my son didn’t move for the entire time.
Ottawa Headshot Photos & Rocket Ships?
What do rocket ships have to do with headshot photos?
I use the same approach with clients who are terrified about being in front of my camera.
You will not be left to stand there in silence, awkwardly wondering how to pose and what to do. In a calming, yet commanding, fashion I will prompt and lead you through posing all the while distracting you with questions, stories, or humour. Clients very quickly forget what’s happening as I whirl around them, dramatic voice included. And when I say to clients “ok we got it all!” they are always shocked.
That went by so fast! I forgot you were even shooting! That wasn’t nearly as awful as I had imagined it to be!
The thing about photography is that the most important part of the session isn’t always the camera and technical know-how. The most important part is the magic that comes along with knowing people are scared and anxious. And then distracting them so they can relax and be themselves.
