I haven’t done many portrait photo shootings but there is one I will never forget.
At the time I had a studio, doing mainly advertising photography but in a small market like the Greek, specialization was a luxury I didn’t had so I was practising almost every kind of photography. Actually I liked it, since I had some interesting variety in my job. Nikos is a well-known Greek violinist working on traditional music. The day he come in, for his portrait, I was assigned by a magazine to illustrate the interview that he gave to them. The magazine was a new customer so I wanted to give the best possible result.
I had my lights all set up so after the introductions Nikos stepped in front of the background and looked at me. I cannot describe how awkward the following minutes were. He couldn’t pose not even remotely natural and I was feeling so bad for not been able to guide him properly. The shooting was evolving into a disaster.
After dozens of useless shots I asked him to play something with his violin. I attached a telephoto lens to my camera and I stepped away, into the shadow. And boom! All the tension and the awkwardness burst out leading to this picture!
I don’t know what you think of it but for me it was a great success. It turned out to be the magazine's cover and Nikos come back for more shootings :)
There is also a bw version in my post.
Love the story behind this, it has happened to me more than once. By the way, was the second shooting less awkward?
It is true, the connection between the model and the photographer can be a tricky thing. The second shooting was much easier although this shot is by far the best I got with him.Thank you @gabyoraa!