Sam
Sam
Welcome. This was my first planned shoot in a long time. Yes, I have been lacking for a while So, I decided to pull myself out of my own ass and plan something out. Now I wasn’t thinking anything crazy creative. Just a simple plan to execute. I wanted to get the dust off my camera and test out some gear I just bought.
This was something I’ve been planning for a while. Slowly acquiring and studying some work in my free time. Working through the pandemic and traveling. Your boy was tired. I took my time on this. I wanted to end the year not with a bang but with some motivation for 2021. I needed a push. I needed to remember why I love what I do. I was fiending for that feeling of shooting AND HUMAN INTERACTION. In all seriousness, I was truly fiending for that dopamine rush of CREATING. We’ve all been there. Creators need to create. With that being said let's talk about this shoot.
I’ve had shoots were hair and makeup had to be TOP NOTCH. Not today. I told my model, “Clean hair, natural look, and light make up.” Anything else I wasn’t happy with I would simply retouch. That being said keeping it simple can make for boring photos but, if you have an idea going into it they won’t be so boring.
In school, it was always fun to make big fun complicated shoots and get super creative with them. I had to strip all that down for this shoot. I’ll get creative later. I wanted to connect with my model to get some strong yet fun expressions. Though we started off a little slow, once the ball was rolling we were having fun and creating. This is where that rush of dopamine comes in. That shot you created in your head is right here in front of you. You’ve thought the idea, you planned it, and click. You made it.
I have always been a fan of in studio shooting. I don’t have a physical place to call My Studio but, you don’t need one to get what you want. Having control over your shooting environment changes how you shoot. You can take your time and focus on what you’re getting across. The plan for the shoot was to keep it super simple. Black and white, high key, and get some shots I’m happy about. Easy, Simple, to the Point.
Here is the outcome. Was I happy? At first I wasn’t. Skimming through and doing light editing I wasn’t happy at all. So, let the photos breathe and forgot about them for a day or two. I completely wasn’t sticking to my plan when I was looking at my photos earlier that week. Once I got myself back in my lane I got to work on editing. Editing is just as important as shooting in photography. This will get your idea across. Black and white was the direction we were going. My last step was some retouching of the skin. I did do a good amount of retouching here. I always lacked in skin retouching in school so, I had to show up here. After a couple days of editing I was happy with my outcome and so was my model.
This shoot taught me that it’s okay to keep things simple. We don’t need top of the line equipment or a supermodel. This was important for me to learn. I keep putting myself in a headspace where I feel I need to do a big creative shoot. I don’t. I had fun creating this shoot. From brainstorming to breaking down the whole set to retouching. The rush of creating has been sparked once again. I remember why I do what I do. Till Next Time.