5 Tips to Avoid Overshooting

As photographers, our passion for freezing moments into everlasting images often leads us to continuously press that shutter button, fearing we might miss the perfect shot. However, in the pursuit of quantity, we sometimes sacrifice the quality of our work. Overshooting not only clutters our memory cards but can also get in the way of our creative vision. Here are 5 tips to help find the balance between capturing beautiful frames and drowning in a sea of excess images.

Plan Ahead

Creating a shot list with your client can be very helpful to help guide your session. Think about the location and how many people are participating in the session, along with different ways to pose them to create a versatile gallery.

We all get caught up in the moment and forget poses every once in a while. Luckily, CloudSpot has a simple solution. Did you know that you can download individual galleries as Mobile Apps on your phone? This makes it easy to create galleries for various session types with posing inspiration. By downloading these galleries as a mobile app, you have instant access to your favorite poses directly on your phone, ensuring a seamless workflow during shoots.

Prepare the Client

Setting clear expectations with your clients before the session is not just about ensuring a smooth experience, but it also allows you to focus on capturing the images you are trying to create. Everyone has a different style and workflow but letting your clients that you'll use prompts, humor, music, and more to bring their vision to life always helps!. Utilizing Cloudspot Studio to send questionnaires is effortless and can give you valuable insights into their preferences. 

Focus on Connection

Instead of continuously shooting during a session, focus on building a connection with your clients. Engage in conversation, provide direction, and allow moments to unfold naturally. Pausing between shots enables you to observe and anticipate moments worth capturing, leading to a more intentional and controlled shooting process. One technique we particularly enjoy to build connections during sessions is to encourage clients to maintain physical contact with each other. Close that gap and keep your clients close. If it feels awkward at first, embrace it and laugh about it with them, then we bet you’ll capture adorable images of that moment.    

Need prompts ideas? ⬇️ Here are a few out of the box ideas to get your clients to show emotion during their session.

Share a Memory: Ask the subject to share a favorite memory or something that makes them happy. This can bring out natural smiles and genuine emotions.

Whisper a Secret: Encourage the subject to whisper a secret or something funny in their partner or child’s ear. This intimate interaction often leads to candid and joyful expressions.

Imagine a Perfect Day: Have the subject close their eyes and imagine their perfect day. Ask them to describe what they see, feel, and hear. This can evoke genuine emotions and a relaxed, happy demeanor.

Play a Game: Engage in a playful game or activity during the session, such as tossing a ball, playing with bubbles, tickle fights, or a simple game of Simon Says. Playfulness can lead to spontaneous and authentic moments.

Express Gratitude: Prompt the subject to think of someone they are grateful for and why. Expressing gratitude can evoke heartfelt emotions and create a genuine connection that shines through in the photos.

Be Patient

‍Take your time to compose each shot thoughtfully and wait for the right moment. Resist the urge to constantly click the shutter button in hopes of capturing the right moment. They picked you as their photographer because they loved your work; they don’t mind waiting a few seconds while you rearrange how they are sitting. We promise.

Review and Adjust

‍Do you ever feel like you need to keep the photo session moving? Take a breath and time to adjust. Your clients will actually appreciate a slower pace! Don’t forget to take time during your session to review images that you’ve taken. This can allow you to change settings as needed (getting it right in camera helps so much), check on the versatility of your images, or capture poses that you and your client originally wanted.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of overshooting, sacrificing quality for quantity. But if you take the time to be mindful and implement simple strategies, you can pave the way to intentional and impactful photography. You’ve got this!

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