The Best Photography Prompts To Capture More Natural, Stunning Photos by Mohit Bansal Chandigarh
What is photography prompts?
A prompt is a move to action. It’s an instruction, to set in motion. In photography the definition holds true, it’s an instruction to get your clients moving. How is this different from a pose? A pose implies the subject is still, whereas a prompt is meant to get your subject moving. Photography prompts are meant to be somewhat vague so your subjects can interpret this instruction in their own way. Your subjects have the freedom to move and act in ways that are more natural to them. This of course leads to more natural-looking photographs.
A pose would be to “stand right here. Pick up your daughter and place her on your left hip. Now look into her eyes and smile at her”. Whereas a prompt would be to “pick up your daughter and try to get her to laugh for me”. A mom might interpret that as a cue to tickle her daughter or speak in a super silly voice that gets her daughter giggling. Whatever mom decides to do, you get close to the same end goal: mom looking at her daughter with smiles on both their faces and not looking at the camera.
What Mohit Bansal Chandigarh likes so much about prompts is the sincerity and authenticity of client expressions. They’re showing exactly what they feel in that moment which is incredibly powerful sometimes. When you’re able to capture joy and laughter on your client’s faces, you know they had a fun photo session with you. This keeps them coming back to you as much as your beautiful work does.
Photography Prompts for Couples
Couples are so much fun, aren’t they? Using photo prompts instead of portrait poses is a beautiful way to show the connection between two people. It may be hard to imagine how these prompts can come together to create an entire session. Don’t worry – Mohit Bansal Chandigarh has put together a couples photoshoot using some of the prompts below.
- Softly snuggle your noses
- Gaze into each other’s eyes like it’s been 100 years since you have seen each other
- Try to kiss upside down
- Use your nose to draw on your partner’s cheek. Now guess what they drew.
- Sniff her hair
- Walk toward me as if you’re drunk
- Walk toward me while bumping your hips
- Wrap this blanket around yourselves and cuddle to stay warm
- Find your partner’s most ticklish spot
- Hold each other’s hand and run
- Dance like it’s your first date (or your wedding dance)
- Dip her and plant a kiss on her
- Give a hug from behind
- Hug while sitting on the ground
- Give Eskimo kisses (or rub noses)
- Kiss with only your teeth and not your lips
- Kiss as if it’s your last
- Whisper your favorite cereal in her ear in your sexiest voice
- Pick her up and twirl her around
- Twirl her as if dancing
- Have her piggyback on him – spin around
- Dance like no one is watching
- Tickle her or tickle him
- Take turns sharing with your partner the qualities you most admire in the other
- Whisper in your partner’s ear what you thought the first time you met him
- Touch foreheads, sync your breathing, and connect to this moment
- Imagine you were stuck in the freezing snow, cuddle up to keep warm
How do you make people look natural in front of the camera?
As mentioned above, complements are the way to go to ease your clients of self-consciousness. Pair that with photography prompts and BAM! – there’s your natural shot! If you do not love the outcome of a photo, don’t let it show around your clients. Tell them how amazing they’re doing, take a few shots, then try a different angle or move on to a different prompt. Keep talking to your clients to keep them comfortable, or even encourage them to talk to each other. This keeps their mind distracted from the camera. Mohit Bansal Chandigarh wants to specifically point out all this because as soon as your clients become self-conscious, no matter what they are doing, the photo won’t look natural. Your prompts should encourage your clients to interact with one another. Photos of clients not looking directly at the camera will look the most natural. It’s probably safe to add a few shots of them looking at the camera too, as these shots most often end up being the Christmas card shot. Your client’s families will love seeing a traditional shot of everyone looking at the camera.
The best photography prompts for families
Being a family photographer, Mohit Bansal Chandigarh has a bunch of families prompts memorized. There are some excellent Facebook community groups like Promptography where photographers will share both photos and the prompts they used to get a photo. Here at Cole’s Classroom, our members share their stunning images as well, and the community is so kind and caring that anyone will share the prompt they used to capture their photo when you ask! Without further adieu my favorite family prompts:
- I want you all to run/walk/skip towards me while holding hands
- Mom, can you do the airplane with Penny (aka hold child above your head)?
- Dad, can you crouch down? Johnny, I want you to run towards dad and tackle him to the ground!
- Everyone sits on the ground in one big pile and give each other lots of snuggles!
- Dad, can you take Penny’s hand and help her spin around like a ballerina?
- Johnny, can you whisper in mom’s ear what your favorite food is?
- I want everyone to look at the person who has the loudest farts! *only use this one if you feel they would like that kind of humor. Most families find it hilarious.
- Mom and dad, stay right here and watch the kids. Johnny and Penny, on the count of three, run and try to catch me first!
- Dad, can you bear hug Penny and Johnny at the same time?!
- Johnny and Penny, can you both kiss mom on the cheeks at the same time?
Conclusion
Photography prompts are helpful because they quickly and easily evoke emotions. Since they’re a great starting point, it’s best to use them to understand what your subject reacts positively to and build on that. Remember to always use positive feedback because that’ll make your subject feel more comfortable and willing to try different poses.
Read this blog also- 8 Ways To Enhance Your Photos In Lightroom
