Be a Great Guest Photographer
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For most of us, Summer is the great social experience of the year. From the beginning of June through August, we travel, visit, and attend a multitude of places and events that beg to be documented in pictures. And thanks to the iPhone, it’s ultra easy to collect a whole story in photos and video to keep those moments alive.
Often, those excursions are as guests with friends or at a special event like a wedding. Maybe it’s vacation time on your own at someone’s loaned cabin.
But whatever the occasion, there are some easy ways to say thanks with photos that will delight your hosts.
Be The Selfie Buster
Sure, selfies have their place, but unless someone has Orangutan-length arms it’s hard to get a natural angle for the shot. In the end, selfies are about connection; a shared moment with other people. But it’s also about a moment or a place that brought them together. The ‘why’ of the shot. Including the Eiffel Tower, or front porch, or camel in the photo adds a whole magnitude of meaning and interest to the picture that’s rarely part of a selfie. Often there’s nothing more than an anonymous sky or building behind some familiar faces.
If you are part of the shot, then be the person with the tripod. Or learn how to prop your iPhone on a bookshelf/window sill/Lego tower/flower vase to get your whole group with surroundings. I know someone who has mastered the group self-portrait with nothing but an iPhone and water bottle. Or grande latte, depending on the season.
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Back in the day, before iPhones, selfies weren’t even possible holding a 2 pound camera, but there’s no shortage of self-portraits that were taken with a timer. Your Camera App offers 3 and 10 second delays. Use them.
If you have an Apple Watch, you can even remote control the Camera App from afar and save yourself the 5 yard dash after you start the self-timer.
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Amaze your friends.
And, taken further, be a ghost photographer for strangers. When you see that tourist family eager to document their visit to Times Square, offer to take a couple shots. I like to do the Holy Triad - 1 close-up, 1 landscape orientation with background, and 1 portrait orientation with background. For extra points you can throw in a panorama with the family in the middle.
Be a good second shooter
Event photographers often bring a “second shooter.” I know, the name sucks. But it’s an essential role. At large events of any kind or formal ceremonies like a wedding, bar/bat mitzvah, or choreographed gatherings, the photographer needs coverage of different angles or different activities at the same time. A good second shooter gets the photos that the lead photographer can’t so that the whole event is thoroughly captured.
But because we all have cameras in our mobile phones, we all become second (or third, fourth, fifth . . .) shooters as well.
And we need to behave like it.
The first bit to understand is that WE are the subjects, almost as much as the hosts. I think of events as performance art, so we are an essential part of the performance.
The second thing is that the hosts have paid for professional photography already and probably aren’t expecting more photos to review and edit.
So how do you play that as a guest/photographer who would like to contribute to the experience?
These days many of us take photos as easily as breathing. It’s a habit, a creative rush, a way of connecting with our life experiences. Fair enough. And events just amp up the energy of all that.
But the hosts don’t want a bunch of professional photos of their guests taking photos either. To the point that some events have become “no iPhone” events. The classic example is of a wedding ceremony where you can barely see the couple through a forest of raised arms and iPhones. Not only is the shot unusable for the pro, so are all of the iPhone shots that ruined it.
But you can still participate in an exceptional way.
Because YOU are the insider.
And the rules of engagement are simple:
Pay attention to the photographers
Don’t take the same photos they are taking WHEN they are taking them
Honor your role as part of the event when you are “on camera”
Use your insider knowledge to get people and moments the pro’s aren’t
Video snippets and guest comments add wonderful texture to the event that the pros will probably not get.
Pro event photographers often do dozens of events per year. They may not know about the distant cousin who showed up unexpectedly. They can’t hang around the game arcade to capture kids’ faces as they win and lose. They won’t be at the table to hear the story of how the couple almost didn’t meet.
Own that.
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Then pace yourself. Find out if the photographers are delivering a quick sample of shots to post to social right away, or if the hosts’ review is weeks away. You can share a few good shots (just a few) the next day or wait awhile until the surprise and delight of your photo/video efforts comes as a welcome dessert to the whole experience.
Be a photojournalist
More than anything, photography is a reflection of how you see the world. Photos aren’t just about what you include in a shot, but also about what you leave out. And as a guest, you likely see places differently than your hosts. Sharing your perspective of their world, featuring elements that have become commonplace or invisible over time can become a priceless gift. When you sit on the porch every night to see the sunset, you might miss its reflection in the old cabin windows. Or the warm glow it casts on the cabin from afar.
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Some good friends of ours have a wonderful spot on Cape Cod with a century’s worth of accumulated shells, vintage sports gear, found items and shelves of books and games. We spent an incredible hour or so getting shots of everything and thanked them for their hospitality with a framed collage of the signature pieces that make the place so special.
Then there’s the people themselves.
Candid moments can be priceless gifts because most of us aren’t documented just doing what we do. As someone familiar, you have a measure of trust that’s difficult for a Pro to match. Just hanging around, being part of the moment favors you with some of the most cherished parts of a day. A few minutes in the garden. Kids mixing pancakes. Walking the dog. Monopoly.
Good photojournalism is about who we are.
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Photography is a gift like no other. It’s unique and personal. It connects us. So for your next event, or visit, or get-together, be a great guest photographer and help keep those memories alive for your hosts.