Getting people doing something gives you better expressions.  I have two techniques for keeping people engaged when I have to set up a situation and then help it to become a real moment.

Pass the Pen

Many schools love to show the seminar setting for a class.  When you photograph in a room with everyone around the table Murphy’s Law states the action will be when their back are to you if you are photographing.

I have a few moments with everyone and explain my dilema.  If I shot this naturally it will take ten times longer due to I am on the wrong side of the table when someone starts to talk.  By the time I shift then the conversation has shifted.

I ask everyone to listen with their eyes and not just with their ears.  This really speeds up the number of usable images.

Typical conference table for a seminar class.

I then ask to borrow a pen and then give it to someone and tell everyone this person will talk.  I ask them to tell us what they did the other day or what they are planning to do that is exciting.  No one can interrupt them and they need to continue to talk until I say pass the pen. 

Even if you do not see the pen the person holds the attention of the group and lets me get the photos catching their various expressions.  Usually we get some laughs and good stories in the process.

Even in small groups I use the pen to help the subjects relax.

This teacher used a similar technique for classroom discussions.  He had a ball of tape that he would toss to a student who raised their hand to answer a question. He tossed it to the student and when they were done they tossed it back to him.  He was quite impressive with his tosses and catches.

You can see as this student tosses the ball back he is engaged in the class.

Walk and Talk

When you get people walking and talking they forget about you and engage quickly.  If it is just 2 people I have them walk close enough to feel each other bump occasionally.  I have one person talk and the other listen. I stress the importance of looking at each other and not the ground.  It is amazing when people are in a normal conversation they might look at the ground or off somewhere rather than looking at a person.  However, for a photo to communicate they are interested in each other they must have eye contact.

Again in the group situation I designate who is talking and ask everyone to give them their eye attention and not just their ears.  Off to the left my assistant is walking along with them out of camera range pointing a flash to them.  I normally use the Nikon SB900 with the Radio Poppers PX system to be sure the signal from the Nikon SU800 triggers the flash consistently.  The flash is zoomed out to about 28 setting to light the entire group.

Here you can see the tour guide helping tell the student about the campus.  Now for this photo I am using a Pocket Wizard Plus II to trigger the Alien Bees B1600 being fired off to the right of the group.  They are walking towards me as my VALS (Voice Activated Light Stand: AKA assistant) is carrying the light on a light stand and staying with the group out of the frame.

The couple is walking and talking to each other a good 50 yards from me. I like using the zoom lens so as they walk closer I just zoom out.  My VALS is carrying the Nikon SB900 with the Radio Poppers PX system being triggered by the Nikon SU800 on the camera.  I am shooting with the flash at normal setting and zoomed to 200.

The flash off camera really helps clean up the photo.  Often you will have a shadow on one or more of the people.  The other advantage of the flash winking in is it helps draw the audiences attention to the subjects.

Helping keep the dark skin tones with detail is really improved outside with the off camera flash.  I can power the flash up or down on the Nikon SU800.  Sometimes I make it +1 or -1 as compared to the exposure of the camera.  Only takes a second to look at the histogram and the LCD and see what might need adjusting.  By shooting RAW I still have lots of control in post processing, but being sure shadows have detail is really important when the dark areas can be the subjects face in a photo like this one here.

Take notice that we have details in the white shirt and the dark skin of the subjects in the photo.  This is will work in a printed piece easily.  Remember I have one person talking and the others listening with their eyes.

TTL hot shoe Flash vs Manual Studio Strobe

As your VALS is walking along with the Nikon SB900 as they vary their distance from the subject the camera still compensates being sure the power stays the same.  Of course the assistant has to remain pretty close with a hotshoe flash like the Nikon SB900 because it is not powerful enough to be much more than 10 to 15 feet away.

Now when you VALS is carrying a studio flash that means as they change the distance to the subject the exposure will change.  As they get closer the flash will get brighter and when they move away it will get darker.  However, with a studio strobe they can stay further away, since the strobes are much more powerful than a hot shoe flash.  I seldom am shooting with my Alienbees B1600 much more than 1/4 power.  I am usually at 1/8 power.  I do like to use a grid spot so I am not lighting up the ground leading up to the subjects.  I like to hit the faces and let it drop off a little.