How do YOU ask people for a picture?

[Photolistic]

What is your style of asking someone if they will let you take pictures of them for practice? It IS an art you know.

[Terry_Hill]

Still trying to work this one out for myself!

Hopefully some secret persuasive techniques will be revealed by other forum members!

[disneydork06]

ok my seceret...I tell them the truth. sometimes I have to take pics for a class so i let them know. or I may just take the pic and ask if it is okay for me to use the pic and see if I can get info from them for a caption that I may have to write.

[Photolistic]

I need to get on my schools newspaper. :)

[Rumrunner]

Don't tell them that they are practice, just offer free pictures! Familiy pictures are usually an easy getter. If they are model material, tell them how you would like to help them build a portfolio.

[SpenserHeaps]

do you mean a specific person you know who you want to spend time shooting, or some random person who you just want an impromptu portrait of? for someone i know, i dont try and sidestep or anything, i say id like to shoot them for my portfolio, or just to play around. im doing a series of portraits of all my friends right now, and ive only done two of them so far but it is a little awkward, u just gotta get over that and get them over that.

for a random person, if i even want to ask them for a shot, i usually either say its for a class or if its a random person in my school i say its for the yearbook (which i work on).

[osho32]

I use four methods:
1. To have an eye contact with the person while heading the camera toward him/her. Get approval and make the shot.
2. Ask the person to take the shot.
3. Don't ask the person / taking the shot from the waist high without the person to notice (and pray that I aimed good).
4. Pretend to aim the camera to other object and then to shot the real pic.

[Stackinchips]

I use four methods:
1. To have an eye contact with the person while heading the camera toward him/her. Get approval and make the shot.
2. Ask the person to take the shot.
3. Don't ask the person / taking the shot from the waist high without the person to notice (and pray that I aimed good).
4. Pretend to aim the camera to other object and then to shot the real pic.


Ditto!

[Double Negative]

"Yo, don't move." :D

I like the four methods below. I usually take #4 as the default.

I use four methods:
1. To have an eye contact with the person while heading the camera toward him/her. Get approval and make the shot.
2. Ask the person to take the shot.
3. Don't ask the person / taking the shot from the waist high without the person to notice (and pray that I aimed good).
4. Pretend to aim the camera to other object and then to shot the real pic.

[elbirth]

Ditto to the above if you're just out and about taking pictures of random people.. for planned shoots, though, recently I just asked a friend if she wouldn't mind helping me out because I wanted to work on building a portfolio. (a few of the results are in my thread further down). Just being honest about it seemed to work pretty well and we had a lot of fun doing it.

Also, another friend of mine asked a female friend of his about it (just said he had a friend working on a photography portfolio and would be glad to give her some prints of the shots afterwards) and she seemed pretty eager and willing to help out. Haven't met/shot her yet though

[int0xicatedxluv]

I just sneak the shots lol

[lauxin]

I use a sophisticated system of mirrors, and really long lenses and "snipe" people.

Just kidding, I use #4 mostly on the list above. Unless it's a portrait, then I usually just say "Hey, would you mind if I took a quick snap of you blah blah... I'm going to use it in class..."

[marksonthestreet]

Just be confident and make sure to be polite, if you seem official most people are very easy going about it. Start with a compliment and state your intention, and if they say no, click and run...fast.

[Tandem]

I'd say, "You'd make a nice picture, may I?" This works for individuals or groups. If I've been around for awhile shooting and I know they've seen me I just hold up my camera and give an inquiring look.

At a sporting event I'd go over to the stands, hold up my camera, and yell, "Are you guys the rowdy ones?" Works every time.

[brunester]

At a sporting event I'd go over to the stands, hold up my camera, and yell, "Are you guys the rowdy ones?" Works every time.
i love this teq
:D