Keep the Camera Ready Between the Poses.

The photograph is finished.

Someone lowers their shoulders. A hand moves through the hair. There is a comment from outside the frame, and suddenly everyone starts laughing.

“Wait. Stay there.”

Now there is another photograph to take.

I love those moments during a shooting.

We spend time choosing the setting, considering the light and working out what the image needs to communicate. That preparation matters.

Then something happens between two planned pictures that nobody could have put into the brief.

An expression changes. Someone turns to answer a question. The clothes move differently when the person stops concentrating on them.

The scene acquires another possibility.

Recognising it is part of the pleasure of working with other people.

You can be so focused on achieving the image you imagined that you barely notice the one happening beside it.

That is why I appreciate collaborators who remain curious after getting the planned shot.

They notice. They suggest. They ask for one more moment because something has caught their attention.

Sometimes it produces a favourite image. Sometimes it produces an interesting attempt that we leave out.

Either way, there is room to explore.

Of course, a spontaneous photograph still has to work for its intended use. A wonderful expression cannot rescue every distracting background or awkward crop.

But I like giving those unexpected moments a chance.

A shooting can contain concentration, precision, ridiculous comments and sudden laughter, all within a few minutes.

Some of that life is worth keeping in the final images.

So yes, prepare the photograph.

And perhaps keep the camera ready for a few seconds afterwards.

Before any of those images are taken, there is another useful question: where will they be used?

Silvia