The Two Types of Photos
One of the things that drew me into photography was the artistic side of things. I loved how you could tell a story in a single image.
When I started doing photography as a business I quickly realized that there are two types of photos, the Portrait, and the story. Each one is perceived completely different.
The Portrait
This is the one that the client typically wants. The photo of their kid looking at the camera and smiling. There are many creative ways of doing this simple photo, but it is perceived differently depending on who is seeing it.
The client loves it because it is a portrait of their kid or family member, but someone not related isn’t going to fear much for it. It’s a nice picture but they don’t know the person so it's not something they would want to hang on their wall. Not to mention, that would be a bit creepy!
The Story
Then there is the image that tells a story. This could include anybody, but they may not necessarily be looking at the camera. They are typically doing something or looking somewhere else.
These are images that anyone can relate to. They have mood and emotion. Anyone could hang this picture on their wall because it is art and it doesn’t matter who is in it.
Conclusion
I usually try to mix a little bit of both types of images when I do a client session. I make sure to get the ones where they are smiling and looking at the camera but then mix a few artistic type images in as well because they love both.
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