Everyone gets a little crazy when they’re on camera in some way. A camera lens is irrefutable proof that we’re being paid attention to, that someone is watching – and if we know that the photo might find its way to canvas printing it’s even worse. It’s almost impossible not to become self-conscious and slip from our natural, normal selves into some other persona. Some of us get very shy and try desperately to avoid having our photo taken. Some of us love the attention and ham it up, getting dramatic and silly. Others become very still, as if they’re being hunted and if they remain dignified and expressionless they’ll survive the encounter with the camera and possibly the canvas prints as well.
We all do something. The trick for the person taking the photos and having the canvas prints made is to compensate for these personality quirks and types and come away with great photos in spite of them. Here are a few techniques you can use with different personality types to ensure a great photo that’s worthy of wall art.
Canvas Prints Strategies: The Shy Person
Contrary to popular belief, shy people aren’t socially awkward types who can’t even go to the store without getting into shyness-related hijinks – those people have a real social disorder. The normally shy person is generally perfectly fun and natural to be around right up until you point a camera at them. They then usually do one of three things: Run, cover their faces, or strike a painfully tortured pose as they wait for you to get it over with. The end result is almost always a photo that no one in their right mind wants to turn into gorgeous canvas prints for their wall or for gifting.
How to Deal: The absolute best way to snap a photo of a shy person is to do so without their knowing. Enlist a confederate to engage them in conversation while you get the shot from some small distance away. Don’t get too far back or the photo won’t look good, but the key is to capture the shy person when they’re relaxed and natural.
Canvas Prints Strategies: The Large Ham
On the other end of the spectrum are the people who love to have their photo taken. You walk up with a camera and they become a Large Ham, an actor performing broadly for the lens.
Sometimes this works: These folks can often be quite entertaining, and if being a Large Ham is part of their normal personality then the photo and eventual canvas prints made from it will be the perfect embodiment of them and your relationship with them. On the other hand, if you want something a bit more dignified and emotional, you won’t get it from them.
How to Deal: Get them into groups, but focus in on them. You don’t necessarily have to tell everyone what you’re doing – they can all think you’re taking a big group shot. Put the Large Ham in the middle so their antics are constrained, and focus in on them, cropping out as much of everyone else as possible. You’ll end up with a photo you can process a bit later, removing everyone else (if you want) and showing your Ham in a slightly more dignified pose.
Canvas Prints Strategies: The Dignified Poser
Finally, we all know those folks who regard every photo as visual data concerning their lives that they wish to convey a certain respectability. In other words, they pose, and it’s always stiff and expressionless and boring and awkward, but in their minds they’re being mature and protecting their image. The photos we get back won’t work well with canvas printing because they look like bad stock photography.
How to Deal: Surprise is the key here. You’ll have to keep an eye on them and wait for a good photo opportunity, and then simply show up and snap the photo before they can get their Game Face on. A natural, candid shot can be tough to get into focus and composition, but at least you won’t be dealing with yet another arms-at-the-side, face sober and sombre kind of pose.
It’s always hard to work with unpredictable humans when in an artistic mode like taking photos for canvas prints. When you’ve done the hard work and captured your friends and family as you want them, click here and we’ll take it from there in the canvas printing department.
Leave a Reply