Getting people to do 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 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 will have a few moments with everyone and explain my dilemma. If I shot this naturally, it would take ten times longer because I am on the wrong side of the table when someone starts to talk. By the time I shift, the conversation has shifted.

I ask everyone to listen with their eyes, not just 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, 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; they need to continue talking until I say Pass the pen. 

Even if you do not see the pen, the person holds the group’s attention and lets me take photos of their various expressions. We all 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 his 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.

As this student tosses the ball back, you can see 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 two people, I have them walk close enough to feel each other bump occasionally. I’ve one person who talks, and the other listens. I stress the importance of looking at each other and not at the ground. It’s incredible that people in everyday conversations might look at the ground or off somewhere rather than at someone. However, for a photo to communicate their interest 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 full attention, not just their ears. To the left, my assistant is walking along with them out of camera range, pointing a flash at them. I really 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 settings to light the entire group.

Here, you can see the tour guide helping the students with the campus. 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 that as they walk closer, I zoom out.  My ALS carries the Nikon SB900 with the Radio Poppers PX system triggered by the Nikon SU800 on the camera.  I’m shooting with the flash at standard setting and zoomed to 200.

The flash off camera really helps clean up the photo.  Of n, you will have a shadow on one or more of the people.  The other advantage of the flash is that it helps draw the audience’s attention to the subjects.

Helping keep the dark skin tones with detail is improved outside with the off-camera flash.  I need to power the flash up or down on the Nikon SU800.  So, I make it +1 or -1 compared to the camera’s exposure.  One 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 essential when the dark areas can be the subject’s face in a photo like this one.

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

TTL hot shoe Flash vs Manual Studio Strobe

As your VALS walks along with the Nikon SB900, varying their distance from the subject, the camera still compensates, making 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, the exposure will change as they change the distance to the subject.  As they get closer, the flash will get brighter, and when they move away, it will get darker.  However, they can stay further away with a studio strobe, since the strobes are much more potent than a hot shoe flash.  I am shooting with my Alienbees B1600, which is much more than 1/4 power.  I   usually run at 1/8 power.  I   like to use a grid spot so I am not lighting up the ground leading up to the subjects.  I want to hit the faces and let it drop off a little.