Unlike the previous couple of weeks, I’ve not been behind the camera this week so I’ve got no experiments to share with you. What I have for you instead is a little look into what goes into my preparation for a photo-shoot.

Tomorrow I will be heading to Wolfe Cottage Studio for what will be my first shoot of 2020. It’ll be quite a long day too, first I have a workshop working with a vintage style bath with a shower over. This sort of thing is out of my usual wheelhouse, I usually shoot what I describe as fashion styled portraits. I’m doing very little preparation for this as I’m looking at this workshop as a means of opening up some ideas for future photo-shoots. I’m also going to try and get some behind the scenes shots of the setup used partly for future reference, but also so I can share some of the process involved.

After a quick break for lunch, I shall be shooting one on one with our lovely model for the workshop, Faye Noir. It’s for these shoots that I do my preparation. This will usually begin by taking a look at their portfolio and Instagram feed to get a feel for their look and what kind of ideas might be possible. I will then use a mix of Pinterest boards and looking through my shoot wardrobe to see what I might have that I think would look good.

I use the boards as a means of brainstorming ideas and getting a feel for the look I’m after as opposed to recreating anything specific. There’s definitely a certain amount of winging it on a shoot, especially with someone I haven’t worked with before. I feel it’s best not to be too set on a plan as ideas that you hadn’t thought of before can popup on the day and it’s possible to get something better than originally thought up. You can’t always know how
well the rapport will be when working with someone new, and I’m also a rather shy, generally untalkative person until I get comfortable. I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked with some truly fantastic people and there’s been very few times when I’ve struggled to make some sort of connection with someone.

I don’t think there’s really much more I can tell you about my process.
As previously mentioned I’m planning to take some shots of the setups used as well as taking notes in order to be able to share what a photography workshop at Wolfe Cottage is like with you all,

Of course I could get all nervous, it might all go horribly wrong or I
might completely forget to do so. Though now that I’ve said that I’m going to I really hope none of that happens.