Someone asked me - what's my day like when I'm shooting, and that gave me an idea to write about. I think many aspiring fashion photographers would be interested to see what it's like, at least I remember myself when I was just starting and - I WOULD be!
There's this whole process how one would plan a shoot, it's mostly a theory, because not always things go as planned. We try our best, but then guess what? "A funny thing happens"! Or may be when I'm older and more experienced I'll be able to say - "hey, here's how I always do it and it works like a charm!"
So, there's no magic formula, but this is how I was taught. In fashion everything revolves around clothes, so the way you pick your location is all about matching it with clothes, and the way you pick your light is all about fabric and the location you picked for your story :). I'll talk about those some other time, so consider that you have clothes, and the location and the model and the stylist and the make up artist and the hair stylist - you have everything and everyone /like I'm blessed to have recently (you guys ROCK!!)/.
In the morning I wake up slightly nervous, I'm still not past the "stage fright" stage. I wake up really early and the exercise really helps to get back into the content state of mind. Anything that'll help you feel confident will do. If you meditate - do it. It'll calm you down. If affirmations work for you - yes! The main thing is get your mind off of being nervous and anxious and get into the place where you only focus on creating the best image you're capable of.
So once that's done, I pack up my car trunk. What usually goes there (no matter whether I think I'll need it or not, experience shows that I never know even if I think I'm sure):
- all my light stands with all my light modifiers (except the XL dome) and flashes;
- fresh /charged/ BATTERIES;
- manual reflectors with silver/gold/white covers and the hand extension to stick on the light stand if needed;
- all my lenses;
- three camera batteries - charged; all my memory cards - I don't have too many - 16GB total, but that's been much more than enough up until now;
- GELS! I love color and if I use artificial light, I'll find the place where they'll be appropriate. You can probably see that in my portfolio. So far I'm only using nikon flashes, so all I need is the paper tape and the book of gel samples - there're so many of them! And they cost $1 at b&h, can't beat that!
- Sometimes when I know there's going to be enough space, I take me XL lite dome. It's my fave, the light is so diffused, it almost looks natural.
- I have a turkey pan beauty dish that I made based on one of the web articles - very handy! Not 100% as good as a real beauty dish, which is on a waiting list of equipment I'm going to get the moment I find it absolutely necessary. Look up turkey pan beauty dish on google - it takes you about 8 bucks to make it and the effect is quite all right! So, sometimes I take it with me, it helps a model to relax, once they see what it really is (a turkey pan!!), it becomes a good subject to joke around.
- Tripod. I always take it, in case we get a nice night light to work with, so I can use slow shutter speed with flashes. Never got to use it on a model shoot. One thing about it - you're stuck with the tripod and can't play with angles as freely. That thing sure slows you down a lot. But if you're after an amazing light effects - can't do without!
- Ladder. A MUST! I use it all the time. Angles, angles..
- The more I type, the bigger the list gets. It's actually never ending, you can have a lot to add here, it depends on who you work with and what else you might need. Hey, one time I had to take by 9 feet backdrop paper roll with the stands and all! That was a heaviest bulkiest thing in the car with me that day... good thing volvos have the backseat centerpiece coming up and down, you can stick the roll in the hole there. Actually you can stick two of them in there, the hole is big enough for both white and black paper rolls. So here we go - get a volvo *giggles*.
...
So I'm packed, get some coffee with me in a thermos and off I go.
Get to the place, the model is usually not there yet, but everyone else is. You can discuss what you're doing, go over the clothes again, look at the location again, you actually have plenty of time to get yourself prepared, because once the model arrives, it'll take more than an hour to get her hair, make up and outfit ready. By that time you already figured out what's the first set, what's the light, picked the poses, discussed them with the model and you shoot!
First set is tough. But it's not tougher than the last one, unless you only shoot for 2-3 hours, which usually ends exactly when you have your best creative juices flowing ;). So if you're shooting all day, watch out for the last set. I like to prepare for it in advance, just at that perfect moment when the creativity is at it's best. Everyone is tired on the last set. You, model, stylist, make up, space is all used up...
Also, DON'T save your BEST set for the last. I'll be disappointed, because no matter how prepared I am, I'm still going to rush through it, it just always happens. I hope this will improve over time, but now I just know and I'm prepared the best I can :). Works so far.
Between sets there's time while the model changes and has her look refreshed. Well, that's when you're working with only one model. But the thing is - there're a lot of times out there, when there're MANY models on the shoot! And that's when your 'booty' gets on fire! :)
But not to worry, that's why there're photographer's assistants, and that's why photographers get paid for pre-production time. Because you need much more time to prepare for the shoot that you'll need for the shoot itself. Actually every shoot is ALL about planning, but I'll talk about it some other time.
Planning is the MOST important. When you've planned every look and pose and lighting setup - everything is nice and smooth.
I like to think of people on the shoot and make sure the catering is arranged as necessary. Someone always pays for it and it's the client. But photographer or a shoot director has to make sure it's arranged.
So there's nothing better to do than to be a photographer! If you enjoy all the hassle and responsibility and the CHALLENGE - you're the luckiest photographer out there.
Good luck shooting~
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