This photoshoot experience was very fun. The model that I was working with has also done some photography which made her much easier to work with. We spent a long time together before the photoshoot scouting the area and observing how the lighting would affect the actual shoot. After we scouted the area and took several practice photos together, we moved on to the actual shoot. We chose not to bring props but to instead work with those that the location provided to us.

As it was a public area we had lots of opportunities to use beautiful light posts as well as water fountains to make more interesting photos. We timed the photoshoot for “golden hour” so that the use of shadow could diffuse the light and it would not be as harsh. Then we picked a color pallet that worked well with the area. This combined created some really fun and interesting photos, some of which the model chose to post on her social media.

During the shoot, I found that the best way to get the model to feel more comfortable was to praise everything she did correctly. I would give her instructions and then as I was taking the photos I was telling her how beautiful she looked and how fun it was. Continuing this through the shoot yielded more genuine smiles and more eager participation when she did not fully understand the angles and ideas that I had in mind.

Next time that we shoot together I will provide my model with more reference pictures in the mood board so that we can be more unified in our vision and she can better understand the poses that I have in mind. All in all, this was a wonderful project and I look forward to the next one!