Say hi to Mariana...

Meet Mariana, my first subject in a new project. What new project? Not sure what to call it yet.  But what you need to know now is this; it's all up in yo face, get to know you, personal-like photos. No cheesy posing. All natural. All about you.

Mariana's from Australia, so her being a kick-ass chick is a given.  And she's also one of those "oooo I hate having my photo taken" people.  But did I mention she rocks?  And she's a natural. Classy cool chick with a great smile, and someone I saw stalk and devour two Gyros like no one you've ever seen!

She's doing an internship in my office, so we've known each other for a little while, so the connection was already there, and I'd wager to say she feels relatively comfortable with me (not sure why!).  And I think it shows.  I'm stoked with how these turned out. They are my first non-snap, non-touristy shots with my new camera.. and their success is down to one word: Trust.

Though I'd like to say it's all about me, and that I'm naturally a trustworthy guy and that people, especially those in front of my camera, notice it.  Unfortunately, that's not it at all.  It's digital.  Huh? Yep, it's all about the digital.  There have been so many folk that normally hate having their faces (and soul?) stolen for a brief second and sucked up my my photo sensor who actually let me photograph them purely because I've said these magical words: "Any photo you don't like, I'll delete in front of you, even if it's all of them. You're in total control."

And many take me up on it and the beauty is, they always end up letting me keep some, if not most of the images.  The bonus is that they get to feel like a part of it, part of the creative process besides just standing there with their face ready.

So, if you're one of those people, like me, who are still a bit hesitant to take photos of people, use the "delete all you want" approach, especially on those you know.  It takes some of the pressure off of you knowing they're in control of what's kept or deleted... though you're still the one that has to get the shot. But having that knowledge that there's trust between you and the subject, should make you more comfortable hitting the shutter.

So... thanks Mariana for not only helping me make that point, but helping me make some kickin' photos!