I like to photograph my granddaughters, but asking them to pose is almost always a mistake. They’re too young to understand the concept of posing, so the posed portraits I get aren’t what I’m looking for.
My family was at a cabin recently where there was a covered porch with good light and a plain background. I decided to invite my older granddaughter onto the porch to take her photo. But instead of asking her to pose, I just engaged her in a conversation about her classmates and her summer plans. Very quickly, she was focused on what she was telling me, and was paying no attention to my taking photos. The unposed portraits I got are much better than the posed shots I had been getting.
These are all shot on Ilford FP4 black-and-white film, with a 50mm lens.
This one is my favorite of the group.
I’ll try to use this approach again, but I’m not sure how much longer it’ll work. When she becomes more self-aware, I won’t be able to capture such natural looks.
