It’s a fact: some young people love being in front of the camera, and others don’t. If you’ve got a reluctant subject, whether it’s for a whole family photoshoot or a senior shoot, this prompt will give you strategies to help them relax, by focusing on something other than them! It’s also a beautiful way to document their interests and skills, which will be appreciated by parents and the young person alike.
Photograph their passion: ideas for photos of reluctant teens, seniors and tweens
This prompt is a great one for helping a reluctant subject relax and warm up to you. It gives you somewhere to start without them worrying about what they look like in the photo, or feeling awkward about posing.
How to use this photo pose prompt
Before your session together, encourage your tween or teen subjects to bring things that are important to them, such as musical instruments, sport equipment, books or toys (for younger kids).
If they’re hesitant to actually perform, remind them that the camera won’t capture mistakes, and that you’re an expert at making people look really good.
For someone who is reluctant to have their face photographed, get close on the details, and tell them you’re doing this, so they can relax about their face not being in the photo.
Prompt: Photograph Their Passion
- Play a musical instrument. If they are hesitant to play the instrument in front of you, reassure that the camera only captures stills, not video, so they’ll look like a rock star no matter what it sounds like. Get up close on the details: hands strumming, tuning pegs, etc. Selective focus to blur face in the distance is effective.
- Read a favorite book. Have them find their favorite chapter or quote and take a close-up of their fingers on the page with the text. Photograph the cover with them reading behind it (good technique if they don’t want their face in the photo).
- Play their sport. Bring a ball or equipment and have them show you how they play, or set-up the shoot for the sporting location. Capture photos of drills as well as close-ups of the equipment itself (always with a human interaction included).
- Show a special treasure or toy (particularly for tweens, rather than teens and seniors). Whether it’s building Lego, battling Beyblades or doing tricks with a Tech Deck, every tween is guaranteed to have something they are super obsessed with right now. Find out what it is, have them bring it, and show you how it’s done.
Creative extension
- Have them take over behind the camera and show them how to capture a creative macro or close-up shots of their favorite things. For e.g. a favorite passage in a book, a flat lay of a precious collection, or branding on their sports equipment.
Tag @promptographerguide and use the hashtag #promptographerguide to share your favorite photos of seniors, teens and tweens expressing themselves.
Featured image by Jeswin Thomas.
Want this prompt in your Field Cards set?
All the info in this prompt post is summarized onto a single card in the Promptographer Guide Field Cards, with the details given in the accompanying Guidebook. All the ideas are given on the one card so you have a rich, comprehensive tool for sparking ideas. I’ve designed it this way so you only need five to ten cards to build a whole photoshoot.
If you want this prompt in your set, make sure you include Set 9: Teenage Moments in your Field Cards.
