greek conference portraits

Along with making general images of Greek Conference, I was also asked to create quick portraits of students…sounds really easy on paper but this was the hardest part about my photography job. For some reason I really struggled jumping into this assignment (even though I have photographed strangers before) never have I had this much anxiety; twice I had to turn around and walk into a room where no one else was. It was not until I accidently found my solution that I felt much better about it: Instead of asking “can I take your photo,” I would say, “hey, you have letters on, can I get a photo?” Just the simple ask to photograph the students letters, instead of them, seemed to take the focus (and creepiness) away and I was able to get the job done. Similar to public speaking where if you have the audience focused on a prop, it is easier to speak. I bet there are a ton of psychologists out there that could tell me why my brain works this way, but it was an amazing help for me this time. These are not necessarily my most beautiful images, but graphic designers just eat these up and create a lot of impactful banners and promotional material out of these simple images.