Have you as a photographer or model had a hard time expressing your creative ideas for photographs to another person(s) ?

  How did you overcome this?  Are you failing to express yourself correctly?  (much like myself) 

Do you lay it on the line or just hold it back and let your ideas unfold and evolve as you shoot?

I am looking for others input on this. Maybe some won't even get what I am trying to say in this post?

I'm terrible at expressing myself when I'm talking to people.  What I find works is to keep it simple, and latch onto a few key points and concrete images that sum up what you mean.  For the most part, people understand that photographers are visual people.

Try finding similar photographs that illustrate your vision or if all else fails, sketch it out. I routinely storyboard my shoot concepts... shooting angles, placement of lights, props, and what the final image *should* look like. I find it's much easier to work towards a goal when you have the preconceived image in your head prior to picking up the camera. The drawing will illustrate your ideas to everyone else on set.

when I have an idea, I sketch it out... and on the sketch I draw a large empty circle with an arrow to show where my light needs to come from, and a dark circle showing where my shadows need to fall. I write outside the thumbnails what is happening in the picture, and what it is that I want to say.

After I have that, my mind has room to rest some... (an idea spinning around in your brain is not the best thing when trying to think lucidly) and as it does I get to think about color scheme... what the colors mean.... symbols to make the idea more pronounced.

For instance.. in a course in forgiveness... the model has her back turned on the cross; and has her arms removed from her. This symbolizes that even our best efforts at being righteous fall short, that  we cannot do anything of ourselves to be forgiven or saved.

I don't think that anyone should hold back, we have too much art that doesn't say anything or move any one. Who wants to eat plain mashed potatoes all their life?

Actually....I think sometimes I express myself creatively and in many other ways.....to much....LOL.........at least I've been told that....LOL.....

At one time I was the president of a merchants association...and the standing joke was, "don't give him a microphone".....LOL.....because while everyone else hated expressing themselves to the public.....I loved it!....and would go on and on and on........oops....this post is getting longer isn't it.......

I attempt to storyboard my ideas. At times my thoughts run so fast it's hard to communicate them...

The storyboard ideas sound good.  Should one reveal shoot concepts/ideas to prospective models here......? What ya think?

I seldom actually plan anything, but make it clear by stating in English up front that it will be naked and it will be erotic and there will be no limits of any sort imposed by the model.  That's pretty plain spoken. 

Of course, it also sorta thins out the models to those who really want to work with me.  No one thinks, "...maybe I'd like to work with Nelson..."

-Don

It used to be all the time, but I'm working with a more diverse crowd and Japanese Animation has become more mainstream in the past few years so I don't have to try to explain an entire series to a lot of photographers anymore.  Often enough, they've already seen it on TV.

As far as other ideas, it's hit and miss.  If it's something fairly abstract, I end up with problems, if it's based around a movie, etc, I can normally explain my way through it.

Sketches and story boards work well for many people.  Occasionally I use the former. 

The choice of models is very relevant.  I tend to work with models already familiar with my work and working with me.  I simple outline what I want and the good models provide the look.  New models require more time, especially the inexperienced ones.  With them I may well have to proceed slowly, sometimes frame by frame.  With an experienced model I’ve shot 200 frames per hour; with an inexperienced model I might get 20 or 30 frames per hour. 

Much also depends on the photographs I want to make.  Once, a session with a top model (I’d never before worked with) used three sets and three very different costumes.  I made twelve frames but only need to have made one frame per set.

A key to success in informing participants is to understand, yourself, what you want well before starting a session.  Having a clear picture of your proposal makes it far easier to convey the concept.

....Thom