HOW ONE PHOTOSHOOT REMINDED ME OF MY PASSION.
A client photoshoot reminded me of my passion for and love of photography and reconfirmed my choice of profession.
A jumble of emotions
As I started to power down my strobes, lowering the stands to be able to reach them, my head was buzzing. So many thoughts. I was reliving every moment, I was replaying the day over and over in my head. I was pleased, at least I think I had the right to be. My client was expressing her joy at how the shoot had gone, the model seemed happy with our interactions, but then could also just be that she was happy to be done. All in all, it had been a great shoot, the weather had played along, no gear issues, and all the pieces that needed to get shot had ended up on the model.
So why was I retracing all my steps in my head, over and over, analyzing everything I had done that day? Had I been that nervous or anxious? To be fair, it had been a while since I had done a fashion shoot, courtesy of our lovely pandemic that made the world shutter itself away. And, before you start lodging any complaints, yes, the word “lovely’ is positively drowning in sarcasm. Regardless of your personal convictions on this pandemic subject, it was fun for no one and quite impactful on businesses, especially on small businesses. But let’s not go there and get back to my ramblings instead.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
Was change the reason
So, what was going on? Was it the changes that I had made to my gear? Doubtful, while comfort level with the gear one uses can have an impact, it is purely technical. The creativity is its own process and in most ways rather independent from what gear we use. On a side note, it was fun to have the time to really research and figure out in what ways I wanted to update my gear. In case you are wondering, I ended up staying with Canon’s ecosystem, and didn’t switch to Sony, because I have too much invested into Canon glass. Ah complete switch would have been financially ruinous, and given the state of business during the pandemic, not the wisest of choices.
I think I am getting ahead of my story here. Putting pen to paper, well fingers to keyboard, the flow of words naturally lead me down the main theme that I was thinking of talking about. Reading over the beginning paragraphs I feel that I might be coming across a little worried, anxious, or unsure. Quite the contrary, this panoply of emotions that I was feeling, the cascading thoughts, reliving everything, was born out of the excitement. I was buzzing from the creative process.
Like I said it had been a while since my last shoot of this type and I was feeling alive! Oh, I mean the exclamation mark. Maybe I should use two of them. It was so refreshing to have been out there again, interacting with a client, model, hair and makeup artist, running around and being creative. I guess you could call it an adrenaline rush. The thrill of being creative and being passionate about something.
It is not that I had been hiding the whole time during the pandemic and not been busy. My work just migrated into a different direction throughout the pandemic and during the recovery period. All part of the process of surviving when you get thrown such a curveball. And finally, I was shooting something that I had been working towards before the pandemic. A previous client of mine had reached out to me and booked me to shoot their newest collection of down jackets. I was excited, I love their products and what better time than winter in New York City to shoot for a local outerwear brand.
The client’s brief was everything I wanted
The client wanted New York City backdrop and feel. They are a local brand, the city that never sleeps is where they draw their inspiration from. I was to shoot editorials for printed and advertising material and plain background studio photos for use on their webstore. Perfect, shooting outside it always so much fun, while at times also challenging as you must deal with so many outside influences that are outside of your control. More importantly, I was excited to get the chance to test whether I would be able to successfully turn my home office into a studio. As you can see this was a great shoot for me to embark on. A client I know, a product I love, a brief that I am able to get behind and I get to find out if my new apartment can function as a photo studio as well.
Let the creativity start. New York vibe was requested. No problem when you are in New York City. I didn’t want to do the typical rush into Manhattan and triumphantly declare “Voila! New York feel.” I wanted something different, there is so much more to New York City than just Manhattan. I had recently moved to The Bronx and this borough is definitely New York, positively oozes it. Met up with my client and we went out to scout some locations. I surprised my client with suggesting shooting under the subway 1 train in Knightsbridge. See, many forget that New York City has miles of above ground subway lines, roughly 40% of the network here is.
Time to get on with the work
Broadway is a wide avenue in Knightsbridge with raised track and lined the usual array of stores and restaurants. It has an undeniably New York in feeling and has the added bonus of less people and traffic. We had no trouble determining a few suitable locations. My client already had found a model they were happy with, as well as a hair and makeup stylist. We were ready.
We booked a test shoot with the model. This is a step that I can only highly recommend to everyone. It is one thing to like the casting photos and quite another to see the model in person. Especially when shooting fashion. Not only do you need to pick a model that fits the look you are going for, but you need to know that whatever products you are looking to shoot fit the model. Everything needs to work together, and in this case, if the jackets would not fit the model, it would be a disaster. The test went off without a hitch and also ended up being my first run at converting my home office into a studio.
From a home into a studio
When I had made the move to The Bronx, one of the things that had drawn me to my new apartment was this room off the side of the living room that could function as my home office, TV room, library and ultimately, I was hoping, also as a home office. It has these double sliding doors that provide a large opening into the room and make it possible for me to move even further back with the camera. With the doors open I have the full length of my office, living room, dining room.
I was so excited and nervous setting up the home studio. Slid the coach out from in front of the TV, set up an 8-foot-wide backdrop, that created a seamless wall, does make editing so much easier later, setup three lights and with the help of my office chair and an oversized teddy bear, graciously lent to me by my daughter, went about making sure lighting was the way I wanted it.
So far so good. Everything was working out the way I hoped it would. I will write a separate blog going over the home office to photo studio conversion, and the things that I learnt from doing it. I was positively giddy. I love my new apartment, but it now moved up a few notches to near dream apartment status.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
The day of the photoshoot
The day of the shoot went as well as I could have hoped. Weather was dry, cold and the sun was kind enough to hide behind a light defusing haze which allowed me to shoot without a flash. Which was great as it allowed us to be more efficient with our time. Oddly enough, although I was shooting down jackets, the cold still became a problem. It was freezing. Challenges like this can easily derail a shoot, or you can use them to your advantage. Add a cup of hot coffee, originally meant to warm the model’s hands, but turned out to be a great prop. A rolling carry-on suitcase, which was the makeup artists treasure chest. Combine the two and you can get a few great poses out of the model looking every inch the part of someone traveling to New York on a cold winter day.
As I was saying, you jump on opportunities when they present themselves. We had gotten the hand warming coffee from a food truck that was already open. The gentleman running the truck was super helpful and also offered that we could use his chairs and tables to rest. Why not. Why not use them in the shoot, food truck and all. When I first moved to New York City food trucks were hard to find. Over that last 17 odd years they have become a New York stapple. And for good measure we lets throw in a friend that came with in case we needed a few extra arms.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
How the subway in New York City added flavor
Since, we were on the theme of traveler in New York City, it was the logical next step to mosey on over to the subway station. We had thought of using this great staircase that leads up between some apartment buildings next, but both the client and I were in love with the look and feel we were getting at the moment. So off we went to the subway station and climbed up the stairs to the platform.
New York’s subway is a quintessential part of the city. A landmark if you want. But I have always found that the underground portions of the subway system were not the most photogenic. While to above ground section offered much more appeal while still retaining an unmistakable big Apple feel. I am sure local station staff were intrigued by what we were doing, judging from their bemused, quizzical looks. Maybe, we made their day, gave them a fun story to tell their friends and families later.
Ah, that sweet sensation
As we headed back to the studio, my apartment turned photoshoot studio, I was infused with such energy. The shoot was full of positive and productive energy, I was confident in the shots that I got, the model had been professional and efficient, and the client was able to get all the styles they wanted editorial shots for and were really pleased with how everything was going. A happy client is imperative and can often gloss over smaller issues.
At that moment I was feeling alive, creativity was flowing through my body, infusing me with an energy, such an additive state to be in. I felt as if I had just jumped out of a plane with a parachute. It is a great feeling. It gives purpose, and drive, when channeled in the right way. It can so easily derail you if you let this feeling overwhelm you and take you in the wrong directions. In this case I was safe, I still had my client with me, there was still hours of work left ahead of me, and a clear path for me to channel this passionate energy.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
In the end it took just one shoot to remind me
At the end of the day, as I was power down my strobes, lowering the stands to be able to reach them, my head was buzzing. But it was buzzing with positive energy. The kind of energy that gives you hope and confidence. The kind of energy that gives you the courage to continue on the path you have set yourself, to continue to do that you are passionate about and keep believing. Something I learned from this shoot, was the reminder that photography was my passion, I was happy in its creative process, and willing to take the hardships this profession might throw in my way, for the highs it can give you. The rewards by far outweigh the lows.
I hope that you, my dear reader, are able to find something that fuels your passion, gives you the energy and drive to continue and to drive you to invest yourself into it wholeheartedly.
Thank you for visiting my website and taking the time to read my blog, I will be trying to post a new blog weekly.
