Ocean’s 11 in your photography?

You remember the movie, right? Of course you do. Steven Soderburgh at his finest with actors Clooney, Pitt, Damon and a whole host of VIP Hollywood actors (including the amazing Julia Roberts).

I was never so keen on the sequels, Ocean’s 12, Ocean’s 13, the all-female Ocean’s 8, but one of the scenes in the first of the films was something that struck me from the day I heard about how it was shot on the day of filming.

At the point in the movie when George Clooney and Brad Pitt are about to explain how the heist will work and they’re at Reuben’s house in the living room, Director Soderburgh intentionally didn’t tell each of the cast where to sit, or stand, or how to be in the room. Instead he told them all to go to where they each felt their character would go.

So some were sat at the front, some sat at the side, some were stood at the side. But Matt Damon’s character chose to stand right at the back, distant from everyone else and in a position where he could see everyone. Where he wasn’t vulnerable.

Because his character lacked confidence and operated in the shadow of Clooney / Pitt.

This is something I do in schools when on a photoshoot or video shoot for school marketing; instead of telling each person exactly where I want them I’ll tell them to go sit where it feels right for them.

Sometimes this requires a touch of tweaking; the girls will often sit with other girls, boys with boys, Y7s with other Y7s. And I’ll have no problem tweaking their positions for the sake of the marketing message.

But this also results in people mostly sitting where it feels right for them, something that can be crucial for ensuring a natural looking photo or video clip can be captured.

Now, are children acting when they’re in a photoshoot for school marketing? Well, to an extent they are. They know they’re being photographed so they’re doing all those things they think the person with the camera wants them to do.

This is one of the easiest ways to capture natural looking school marketing content for your school website, prospectus and social media.

I’d love to know what you think.

The Bonjour Agency Ltd