Photo Quick Tip: C.Y.E. and T.A.B.

I put this baby in acronym form so you'll never forget.

C: Close
Y: Your
E: Eyes

and

T: Take
A: a :)
B: Breath

If you've ever had a shoot with me, you'll know that I OFTEN ask my clients to close their eyes and take a deep breath. Yes, there is a method behind my madness (at least this time around). Early on I discovered that just as I would get into my groove during a shoot (like, the creative juices are finally starting to flow . . . ahh . . . yum . . . my shutter release finger is getting all anxious just talking about it) often this would be when my client would start to loose their, for lack of a better word, composure. We can all relate. . . after smiling for too long it's pretty difficult to keep it natural. We start to look like a subject in a wax museum. Have your subject close their eyes and take a deep breath. At the top of the breath have them open their eyes and smile as they exhale. You'll be amazed what a significant effect this simple process will have on your photographee. So. . . shout it with me all y'all: "C.Y.E and T.A.B!"

Happy Shooting!

xoxo,

Nat

**It's also pretty astonishing how well this works on tiny people. It turns the "smile and look here" torture into a type of a game. They'll giggle and make silly faces and lighten right up. . . then you're ready to get your groove on!