By Jay Dickman 

I started my series of blog posts talking about how to approach strangers you want to photograph. And I explained that in our FirstLight Workshops, we pre-arrange these interfaces beforehand, so students don’t have to worry about it and can immediately immerse themselves in shooting.

When I “pre-arrange” the permissions with community residents before each workshop begins, I explain to our potential subjects what we need. We not only want their permission to have a workshop student photograph them, but we also want them to grant the photographer enough time so that certain “moments” can present themselves.

This craft takes time. We need to spend a certain amount of time with our subjects to allow ourselves the chance to capture those fleeting moments that can make great photos. Such moments can occur in minutes. Or, they may not occur until hours after you’ve found a subject and stepped into their world to take pictures.

For the first 15 minutes, your subject may simply stand there—waiting for you to start shooting. Encourage them to continue doing what they would normally do. Once you become boring to them, the photo ops will start occurring.

This is when you watch for that certain moment. It may be a gesture that your subject makes. Or it might be the laughter between two friends, or a saddle-maker immersed in the process of hand-tooling a saddle. You also watch the light, you move back, closer, higher, nearer and look for the angle and approach that will help make an arresting image. 

Don’t get caught “chimping” (admiring your work in the camera’s monitor) while your subject is involved in their craft/business/whatever.Inevitably, you’ll be engrossed in looking at your camera when that certain “great-photo” moment does occur. Stay with the scene. Remember, your viewfinder is your canvas.

Once you’ve captured those few fleeting moments and returned to workshop headquarters, don’t forget another really important aspect of a participating in a workshop—showing your subjects that you appreciate their time.

Most communities are happy to open their doors and hearts to photographers when a workshop is held in their town.  Usually all they want in return are a few prints for their time and patience, which is certainly a fair trade. But few photographers go to the effort of following through on this simple request.

It seems like a no-brainer, but all too often I’ve heard from people who feel that they were burned by a photographer not reciprocating their hospitality and kindness.

If you participate in an on-location workshop, I strongly urge you to take the time to print a selection of your best photos and send them back to the subjects you shot that week.

More than likely, your subjects will be proud to display your work and tell their friends about what an accomplished photographer you are.