You may have seen some #facetimesessions floating around on Instagram or Facebook lately and wondered what they’re all about - I did my first one this week with my friend, model Sarah Peddle, and I have some tips for you!
(Pssst - if you want a full tutorial, you can buy one from Teri Hofford here!)
To start, you’ll need FaceTime or another video calling service of your choice (Zoom, Facebook calling, Skype, whatever works best for you). When using FaceTime, when you take a photo during the call, your face won’t be visible in the image taken.
Once you’ve got a call started, you’ll need to do a quick tour of the model’s space to find where you want to shoot! You should also keep in mind the time of day - because they’re not high quality images, you may want to shoot midday when there is a lot of available light. When you’ve chosen a spot, have your model set up their phone as best they can at the angle/orientation that you’d like. Don’t be afraid to experiment!
Guide your model through poses while you’re on the call. You’ll need to talk them through positions and small details like hand placements if they aren’t experienced (or if you’re shooting with a client). This is a good exercise to practice your communication skills when you can’t show them what to do yourself!
The images you’re taking will likely be fairly low quality depending on the device you’re using. Here’s how we helped preserve some quality to get the best shots we could:
Use WIFI instead of data for a clearer photo
Don’t plan on cropping much; have them move closer to their device if you need a closer crop
Do not brighten your images too much in post
Get funky with your editing! These photos may not look consistent with your usual work, so it’s the perfect time to try out some new concepts.
For the photos in this post, I used a combination of a few iPhone apps: Afterlight, VSCO, and Snapseed. You can also transfer the photos to your computer, or edit on Lightroom mobile.
I hope this helps you get started with your own online sessions - if you have any questions, leave them in the comments below!
