I like to share experiences and meet new people often so I decided, spontaneously of course, to gather models and do some photoshoots in ordinary places. First stop, a blank canvas at The Canopy, where Sa-ten resides in the East side of Austin.
I met Vanessa there on a weekday afternoon to avoid some big crowds, sun was out, the vibe high! I had never met Vanessa in person before and had only exchanged messages for a short time before meeting this day. I had a good feeling it was going to be great as long as I was honest about my expectations. I have found being honest about my abilities, goals and expectations sets a great foundation to something like this. The expectations to be perfect is off, the vibe becomes very positive and down to earth, everyone has more of a looser feeling when performing.
When she arrived she came with a mini wardrobe, her turquoise pants the highlight of the options, so I obviously wanted to start there! My only goals going into this project were simple, make the most out of a very plain space, utilizing poses and compositions. While also maintaining communication with Vanessa and connection with my own goals in mind, not get lost in my head and become mute during the shoot.
Vanessa has experience modeling for several years, and she was so kind, fun loving and just overall sensational in her abilities. It really made the whole experience very easy and fun!
Here is the finished product! I am overall very satisfied with the results, accomplishing my goals while also meeting a very talented, not to mention, sweet individual! We had fun playing with angles, poses and movement to capture different moods and a different looking shot than the last. I was very happy using this space, it has always attracted and intimidated me for a photoshoot location, so I obviously needed to conquer it!
We even stumbled upon a super cute trailer, turned retail shop in the back which perfectly tied into her retro style look! It really couldn’t have unfolded more perfectly than that!
Things I learned
Be honest and straightforward from the beginning as to what goals you are trying to reach. Vanessas was so accommodating and understand in helping me accomplish that goal.
Don’t stay in once place for too long. Move move move! It has become second nature now, and I noticed during this shoot, I didn’t want to take more than a couple photos from the same place as I wanted to have a variety of compositions to go through in post editing.
It’s ok to compliment them anytime I wanted. I word vomit complaints, that’s me, and I learned to stop being so apologetic about it. I know this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it really made me feel more relaxed to be myself and not apologize all the time for complimenting them too much. I’m pretty sure there are no limits on how many complaints to give and people love it!
Expose in a variety of ways. I had so much creative freedom having numerous options of images to edit. Creative freedom in post is a dream, why not take advantage of that under of overexposed picture and make that into art as well!
These of course are my own personal goals, experiences and findings. It is different for every artist and there is no right or wrong way to make art y’all!
