Shoot 5

Just as often as I am bringing out a great expression by the time I click the shutter, I can also start with a great expression, and then I quickly work to get the rest of the image to catch up!

In this case, our subject had warmed up over time and was smiling quite sweetly, so I needed to make some rapid-fire adjustments to keep him engaged. I was shooting with the 24–70 f/2.8 lens at about a 35mm focal length, which allowed me to stand closer to him than if I were shooting with a longer portrait lens.

I asked him to stuff one of his hands in his pocket and showed him how I would put my left leg far out in front of my right one, asking him to do the same. As he did so, his expression shifted from a loose, fun one to a more “listening,” ...

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