My Funny Picture

I feel weird asking family to let me take pictures of them?

I just can't seem to get over it. I'm not a confident person or who has a lot of self esteem, nor am I good with people, but I love photography. I'm a very sentimental person. My little brother works as a mechanic and I want to take a picture of him huddled under the hood of a car with a rag in his hand, sort of like "This is my brother, the mechanic." But I feel so awkward asking and actually doing it and I know if I act uncomfortable it will make him feel weird. Any tips?

Public Comments

1. Just ask them, tell them it helps on your photography skills. They'll understand, hopefully heh.
2. Your family, they know you inside out so are going to expect this. dont worry to much and they understand if your not confident. have fun taking pictures, this will help you with your selfesteem and family is a good place to start!
3. William, dude it's your family. Just say Bro, I want to take a picture of what you do best. Let's make it happen. SNAP. Take a shot. Same thing with mom and dad. Now, if it's your girlfriend: Wow. I like the way the sun shines through your hair. Mind if I catch a shot. Snap.
4. Don't think of it as something they are doing for you but vice versa. After a few years, pictures have ENORMOUS value. "This is your great uncle. He was an auto mechanic back in the days when there were cars." My dad was into photography when he was in high school back before WWII, and during the war, and before I was born. He had boxes and boxes of pictures of what life was like back then, relatives I'd never heard of, what he and my uncles and aunts looked like when they were kids, the school he went to, etc. I'm sure it never occurred to him at the time that someone might find that stuff interesting after 30 or 40 years. Beside that, if you ask people the right way they are flattered to have their pictures taken. I used to give people copies of the pictures I'd taken of them and they'd be thrilled! Just make sure you do a good job, and not waste any more of their time than necessary. Do the 'easy' ones first. 8^) Pretty soon people will be like "I was waiting for you to ask me!"
5. Dont' think of them as family, think of them as subjects, get into your artist's brain, forget emotional ties and just see the subjects in the lense. That should make it much easier.
6. Try to psyche yourself into NOT being shy about it. I read in a psychology article that if there's something we don't like about our personalities that we can chose to change it. Basically a 'fake it til you make it' kinda thing. Take a deep breath and just remind yourself that there's NOTHING weird or unsusual about your love for photograpy and more than likely your family will be flattered (not uncomfortable) by the fact that you want to include them in your passion! And the candid shots are the best, they're more real than a 3 second smile/pose for the camera, just as long you're not taking any embarrassing shots I'm sure your family will be just fine :)
7. Don't think of it as taking pictures of him but rather of the shop, car, etc. Start with the easy pictures w/out people and ease into your true subject matter gradually.