Photographing Families: Tips for Capturing Timeless Images

Foreword

When I first met Michele Celentano some 20 years ago, I was instantly impressed by her bubbly personality and her “I can do this” attitude. Over the years, I have had the wonderful opportunity to observe her evolvement as a professional photographer. When I saw her at the Professional Photographers of America National Convention as the keynote speaker, she wowed the audience with her exceptional photographic techniques. She did not speak at her audience, but most important, she spoke to the level of her audience on the principles of making her subjects look photographically timeless.

This book shows Michele’s techniques on why and how her techniques work and it also shows and explains specific techniques that cannot justify acceptable photographic moments.

I personally enjoy her key phrases when posing her subjects. Why I like these phrases is because you are interacting with the subjects. You are creating a mutual working relationship by putting the subjects at ease, thereby capturing their natural expressions.

The key phrases also assist the subjects to pose naturally rather than appear looking “posed” in the photographs. The purpose to these key phrases is that the photographer is the director, i.e., a director directing the movie. The director, aka, photographer, leads the subject(s) into the proper pose, etc. Subjects always want to be led by a leader; Michele is the ideal photographic leader! A toast to you, Michele!

Hanson Fong Master Photographer Photographic ...