I put together this quick and fun lifestyle concept a week and a half ago. The idea was to get three friends out having a good time at a self car wash. Splashing and playing around, working the group interaction. Props to 82nd St and Indian School Car Wash in Scottsdale for letting us take over the place for two hours. If you ever need/want to give your car or truck a good scrub down, I definitely recommend checking them out.

Commercial lifestyle photography to me is about being able to draw out genuine moments and emotions in your subjects. Without this, you’re not really capturing the spirit of what this genre of photography is all about… to sell and entice others to want to be a part of what you’re photographing. It’s an ideal they can aspire to that is then represented by a clothing line, location or other product.

I was talking with a few other local photographers this week and we all agreed on one point. Concept, creativity and genuineness will really take your photography a step above where it may be now. Without these you’re just fulfilling technical steps instead of creating images. It’s the difference between engineering and art. One is mechanical, one is creative driven. I’d even go so boldly as to say stop worrying about your technical skills. Start focusing on your creative ideas and what you want to say in your own photography. The technicals will come with practice and attention. The creative might never if you don’t focus in on it. It’s the most important element of lifestyle photography. What can you create to draw in viewers?

Here we have our three friends arriving at the car wash. I like to utilize depth of field to create different layers in an image. It gives your image a subject and sense of place. I also enjoy little detail elements like having someone reaching in to grab keys. It hides their face and creates an “anybody” moment. You can almost put yourself in the same position.

Here our three models are once again playing around. You can create posed or set photos like each of these are, while at the same time bringing out the genuine elements of lifestyle. Simply set and direct where you’d like everyone to be, and then have them start moving and interacting. That way you have the right positions, and still a real feel to the images.

This last set I really like. You can tell how real the expressions are and how fun everyone is having. It’s all part of being able to add yourself as an extra party member to the group. Make yourself not just a passive viewer to the images, but a member of them. In that way you create an image that your viewers can not only appreciate, but engage themselves in as well.

Meeting and networking with others is a great way to expand your perspective, get some questions answered and just have a little fun. So in that spirit, I’ve decided to try to put together a few “Saturday Sit-downs.” Around every other month I’ll pick a local restaurant to sit down at and meet with anyone that wants to talk, ask questions, chat industry or just shoot the breeze. Getting a number of people together should be a great mix of perspective. Whether you’ve just picked up your first camera, long-time pro, web designer, agency rep, magazine editor, model, friend, lover of food, whatever, feel free to come and join us.

With that ideal, the first Sit-down will be this Saturday, August 14, at 1:00p.m. at Chompie’s in the NW Corner of the Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix. Anyone interested in hanging out and talking photography, swing on by. If you do plan on coming, please try and send an RSVP to matt@matthewdutile.com so I know if we need to reserve a big or small table. Hope to see you there!

I set up my first children’s photo shoot this weekend with a few kid models from The Agency Arizona. I’ve been looking to expand my commercial portfolio with kids, couples and families a bit more, as I’ve felt it’s a bit one-tone right now. As a young bachelor with no kids of my own it was quite a steep learning curve to start working with children haha. It didn’t even occur to me while I was planning my shots and writing down my concept, that I might have a bit of resistance from some of my subjects.

Me: “Alright, do you want to hold onto each other and spin around?! It’ll be lots of fun.” 7-year-old: “No I don’t want to.”

Well I didn’t quite know what to say to that. I guess I’ve been spoiled working with adults always willing to go along with my ideas and work with my direction. Slowly over the course of the photo shoot and thanks to help from the parents and a friend I started to be able to direct a little more. There’s a few things we found that seem to work much better with children and some advice I’ll be applying to my next kids photo shoot.

1. Become friends. Before really starting a shoot you should get down on the kids level and just talk to them. Ask them what they’re favorite games are, which TV shows they like and things like that. Share some kid friendly things you like too. I wish I had done a bit more of this to start because it took longer to become a friend over the course of the shoot. I’ll be sure to try this right away next time.
2. Play games. It’s not a photo shoot, because that means work. Instead, play games with the kids. Who can jump the highest? Who can hopscotch the fastest? Etc. Also, if you want them to say run toward you and then stop and pose, you have to make it an activity or they’ll just keep going. So create a game where they run toward you and then yell out their favorite ice cream flavor.
3. Rewards system. See if there’s something you can offer as a reward for great work. Maybe an ice pop if they help get the photo just right. Rewards give them an incentive to be a participant.

I’m sure there are a lot more ideas I’ll be discovering as I work in more kids photo shoots. In the meantime, enjoy a few of these images from this weekend.