Working with Designers (featuring Danielle Pettee Shoot)
I always enjoy working with highly talented people who are passionate about what they do. This weekend I collaborated with Danielle Pettee the custom dressmaker from SF. We put both of our minds together and brought to life a great shoot! When working with designers sometimes many of them come up with amazing and creative ideas, sometimes just a simple concept. As a photographer it is up to you to take their aspirations and to not only to bring it to life but to display their work to the best of your ability!
If you know anything about Danielle’s craftsmanship, its nothing out of the ordinary. So to put something together that defined her work as well as displayed it in a way that stood out from the rest you want to take something and bring it to another level. I always find this challenge as one of the best ways for me to grow. I am a photographer that can’t stand seeing the same images in all of my work. I want each shoot to be defined where you know it’s my work and yet separate and different from anything I’ve done before. Shooting in studio is common for many photographers to have in their portfolio. It’s practically the staple of a “professional quality” image in a photographer’s arsenal. But to have images that stand out from any other photographer’s studio work can always be a challenge
The way that I think for situations like this would be: “what can I bring to the table?” “What are some things in her clothes that I see when I look at them?” “What emotions do they evoke in people when they see her work when they look that them?” Asking yourself questions that cause you to think about what you can do and what you want to do. Then sometimes it’s a process of give and take; you find the models perfect for the shoot, or the designer already has a few selected. Just depending how a model looks it can completely change what you want to shoot. If you don’t believe me, what do you think if I put Pamela Anderson in a bathing suit shoot… then if I tried putting her in a long white gown? Not only will she probably not fit the look, (in more than one way) but also she may not fit the part for what would be considered “high fashion.” Finding the right model for the clothes are important, the right concept, and then actually getting everything implemented and ready before the shoot can be a challenge as well.
There is the experimental process that I wanted to talk about really quick. One of the ways that I learn how to light, and how to pose, or whatever that is would be for me to experiment and try things out that I normally wouldn’t do. How that works is once I get the “money shot” I no longer have to keep shooting, but instead I allow the model to try something that I haven’t thought of. Sometimes I see something during the shoot that I want to try out. The tough part can be describing what I see in my mind to a model. I try to be short enough to follow but descriptive enough to let them know what I am trying to convey. Sometimes what you think you see and what you get doesn’t get translated into the image, sometimes it does and its not what you expected either better or worse. It’s Ok! Just keep going! When I can’t seem to explain something, I try a new approach. Communication is one of the most important things in life. The better that we are at communicating to the people the more effective we will be! I hope that gave you some ideas, as well as inspired you to keep shooting and trying new things!
