Breaking The Ice
We who work in the wedding and special event industry have chuckled over the entertaining spectacle of a photographer trying to entice a baby to smile for a photo with whistles, bird calls, teddy bears and funny faces with parents and relatives on the sidelines doing the same. But what do you do with a group of nervous adults whose language you don’t speak and who don’t understand what you’d like them to do?
As a professional videographer that works often with particular nationalities, having a couple of tricks up your sleeve that can help adults feel more comfortable can make a big difference in how your shoot goes. Here’s a simple strategy that I’ve seen in action while on a video shoot where a couple of photographer friends of mine were trying to pose a very conservative group of foreign visitors that seemed to be more than a little bit unsure about the process.
I watched the photographers instantly warm up the shoot by trying to say a few words to the guests in their native language. I don’t really know exactly what was said, but the reaction was instantaneous. The looks of amazement and the laughter that ensued said it all…the whole ambiance changed. Almost magically and because of their little gesture the language barrier-related awkwardness that prevented people from being themselves vanished. Reaching out to the guests in a way they could relate to put them at ease.
Continue reading this post
We who work in the wedding and special event industry have chuckled over the entertaining spectacle of a photographer trying to entice a baby to smile for a photo with whistles, bird calls, teddy bears and funny faces with parents and relatives on the sidelines doing the same. But what do you do with a group of nervous adults whose language you don’t speak and who don’t understand what you’d like them to do?
As a professional videographer that works often with particular nationalities, having a couple of tricks up your sleeve that can help adults feel more comfortable can make a big difference in how your shoot goes. Here’s a simple strategy that I’ve seen in action while on a video shoot where a couple of photographer friends of mine were trying to pose a very conservative group of foreign visitors that seemed to be more than a little bit unsure about the process.
I watched the photographers instantly warm up the shoot by trying to say a few words to the guests in their native language. I don’t really know exactly what was said, but the reaction was instantaneous. The looks of amazement and the laughter that ensued said it all…the whole ambiance changed. Almost magically and because of their little gesture the language barrier-related awkwardness that prevented people from being themselves vanished. Reaching out to the guests in a way they could relate to put them at ease.
Continue reading this post
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