Portrait photo advice

[TartanLenscap]

Hi - I am not used to taking indoors portrait photos, and was looking for some advice.

I have tried taking a series of photos with different subjects and the same setup.
I have used a bounce flash off a wall to the left of the subject with a diffusing card attached.

This has worked well with all of the subjects, however I never manage to get a good photograph of one. He has confessed to being uneasy with having his photograph taken, and in every shot he has an expression of a deer in car headlights. In person he is lean, but in each photo it seems he has a double chin.

I have tried chatting with him, have friends of him chat, and even tried changing the flash angle.

None of this however seems to work. Does anyone have any ideas how to solve this problem, if it be with my technique of directing the subject, or with the flash?

Many thanks.

 

[dinorock]

lets see one of the photos describing it dos`nt work very well hth mike

 

[Phil V]

Without a picture it's difficult to guess, but,
He's taller than you?

Straight away by looking down slightly, he'll increase / create a double chin.
Short lighting flatter most people.
But those aren't the real problem here, the real problem is that the guy is uncomfortable in front of the camera. You have to make sure that everything else (technical stuff) is good and then engage him, using a tripod can help as then you're not hidden behind the camera. and is more likely to engage.

 

[Byker28i]

Sometimes you just can't rock up and expect to take a shot or two. With nervous people, sometimes the first ten minutes is wasted, whilst they get comfortable with the camera. Often I'm just talking to people, interacting and eventually they get relaxed and forget about the camera.