Have you ever had someone, or a group of people, ask you to take some portraits for them just “really quick?” The IT department at HQ did this just a few days ago. I was warned a few days earlier, but hadn’t had any time to prepare. Well, here are  a few things I learned:

• Choose a nearby location. All the pictures shown here are within yards of each other.
• Don’t rush things; don’t be intimidated by anyone who might continually mention that things need to hurry up.
• Still look for details. In most of the pictures here, you can tell I wasn’t doing this very well (i.e. ruffled hair, untied shoe, dusty table, distracting backgrounds).
• Ask a lot of questions up front, make decisions once, and then do the job without second-guessing yourself.
• After shooting one pose that you “know” will work, do at least one more creative pose that “might” work. These last poses usually are the most relaxed and thus the best looking.

Initial, normal pose

Second, more creative, more fitting pose

Third pose, last-ditch effort for something fun and memorable

Enjoy your next “quick portrait” and hope you’re able to do it better than if you hadn’t read this post!