Shooting with strangers can be scary, but it's worth of it!

   One of the most challenging genres of photography for me has always been people photography. For years I used to say that I love to shoot turtles and snakes because they won't complain about the images taken of them. Honestly, as a shy person, I just avoided portraiture and shooting people, because I was afraid! But as I saw more and more good portraiture, good photography involving people, I started to feel like "Hey that's something I want to do!". I'm lucky to have a nice and beautiful wife, so I started with her as a model. Then I moved to friends. Some where more eager than others and I have had the privilege to shoot weddings, family portraits and some personal photos with friends and family. So if you'd love to shoot people, start with the ones next to you. That's good training! Finally I had the guts to try with someone I don't know. I've always felt like that's the ultimate thing to do as a photographer, to get in contact with people you don't know, make an appointment, discus what to shoot, where to shoot and when. I so hoped that someone would make it easy for me and they just would call me out of the blue and beg me to photograph them. I didn't happen! So finally I decided to write a few lines on social media begging for help. I turned to a local TFCD-group on Facebook and asked if there would be someone willing to model for me (If you don't know what is TFCD, just Google it). And just to make a short story a bit shorter, I found a model to shoot with! To be honest, It scared the... out of me to do it! First to ask, then to answer for the willing model, ask where, when and what etc. etc.! But after an agreement for co-operation and one lousily slept night before the shoot, there I was finally in a park on a sunny Saturday in the center of Helsinki, getting ready to shoot with this gorgeous model. I definitely was nervous, but no worries, she was a very easy going person with whom it was nice to talk. She didn't bite and we had a two hour photo shoot and great time together (At least I had). So the only question for my self is, "Why didn't I do this earlier?" Here's a few pictures we made together...