Why communication is key in Photography

You need to be able to effectively communicate for the best results

Aamer Seth
2 min readMay 26, 2021

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Photo by Nicolas Ladino Silva on Unsplash

If you are shooting a friend, family, model, client, or essentially any human being, you need to able to communicate what you want them to do in the photo. Whenever I am shooting, I have a mental picture in my head about how I want the photo to be, so I have to do my best to try and communicate exactly what I want the model to do in order to achieve this.

This may sound like something very obvious, but I found that when actually shooting, photographers (including myself) get nervous about communicating and telling the model what to do, especially if it is someone new and have never worked with before. You might get shy, nervous, and afraid to look silly. But here are two things that you probably didn’t know if you are getting into portrait photography.

First, people want you to tell them what to do. Especially if it someone who is not a model and does not know how to pose, you need to be able to give them full direction and posing tips! This is something that is going to make them feel much more comfortable and relaxed during the shoot. This is where you can flex your creativity and do whatever you want! You are able to get the photos you want, and the subject feels much more comfortable and is enjoying the experience! Its a win-win!

Second, sometimes when you are trying to communicate and ask the subject to pose in a certain manner, while you might not get the shot in your head, you might end up with something even better! Trying new things, being creative, regardless of if it was what you wanted or not, is one of the more fun parts about photography! You might be able to get a shot that you didn’t even know existed.

Go out there, and while you are shooting, don’t be shy to tell the subject what you would like them to do! Sharing ideas is how you develop your style and grow!

If you like Portrait and Fashion Photography, check out my Instagram (@Sethclicks) and my website!

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Aamer Seth

A young University student very curious about many things and here to share his thinking. Interested in Photography, Technology and sharing stories.