I did these Homecoming photos last month, but I didn’t want to post them along horror photos, so I held them until now. Also, I got permission to use these photos. I’m a firm believer of getting permission before you use photo work you did for a client even if you may not legally need permission because the reputation you can get from potentially annoying clients after the fact just isn’t worth whatever you may be trying to do. After all, it’s what your clients aren’t telling you that kills your business.
Anyway, working with teens can be challenging as they tend to be more self-conscious and generally don’t want to be around adults, especially for a photo session, but that is all kind of different for Homecoming and Prom. For Homecoming and Prom, they have planned up to this moment and they want pictures of where they are. Furthermore, they usually have their friends or dates involved which tends to put them in a good mood. In other words, when it comes to Homecoming and Prom, the photo session is something they likely want, and their friends make it something fun.
Two things I do in process is edit out acne (something I didn’t have to do in these pictures) and consider social media. We’ve all been teenagers so we know how big a deal acne is for them and modern photo processing tools offers numerous ways to edit out acne. Also, consider social media. Teens use social media all the time, so if you can include some photos that are proper dimensions for the various social media sites out there you are really helping out the teenagers you are photographing.
These photos were taken on a raining night, so I brought my equipment and setup studio in a garage My backdrop started off as a peach color, but it just wasn’t working out and fortunately I always bring other backdrops and I always have black, black is a good fall back color if nothing else is working. This was a three-light set up with 2 strobes with soft boxes and grids as the key and fill lights and a speedlight as a hair light.
For posing, don’t be afraid to use hands and arms to get depth. Also, you can have your subject lean in some. You can lock knees and unlock knees and all sorts of things. Honestly, posing comes down to practice. Practice by yourself in the mirror and practice with a model. The more you practice posing the better you get and the more creative you end up being.