For todays post, I'd like to take you back to October of last year, and muse about my first big studio photoshoot. Last year I was working for a local souvenir shop called Simply Seattle, a purveyor of all things Seattle. The general manager and owner has the idea to start putting their original T-Shirt designs for sale on Amazon, the only contingent is that Amazon requires photos of clothing be on living models, no flat shirts or mannequins. So a catalogue shoot was in order.
After a bit of back and forth, we finally set a date. We would be shooting after the store closed for the night, with a few volunteer models. Originally, I wasn't meant to shoot, only help out, but the first photographer dropped out. So, the night before the shoot, my manager calls me to explain the situation, that with the loss of the original photographer, we also lost access to lighting equipment. I quickly threw together a rental quote for a basic flat lighting setup, seamless paper backdrop, and a few A-clamps for good measure. The next day, I called around trying to find the best rate for the equipment, and settle on Glazer's, a local company with plenty of equipment to rent - same day.
Fast forward to 6pm that night, I unpacked all the equipment, with absolutely no idea how it works. Luckily, the controls on the strobe heads were easy enough to understand. For the actual lighting design, I set the lights up with umbrellas, so spread the light out in the most flattering way, move them about 8 feet from the test subject, a very white mannequin, and set them 45 degrees angled toward said subject. This provided us with a very flat light, perfect for the catalogue styled images we were creating. If I were a bit more daring, I would have attempted a few more editorial style shots, but we were running against the clock. The location of the shoot was the store itself, we cleared out one of the sections, set up our seamless backdrop, and we were all set!
Just an oversized shirt.
After awhile, things started flowing. We had one of our assistant managers, Joel, as our male model, and two friends of the general manager, Shae and Lina, for the women's clothing. Joel was absolutely professional, quickly changing in and out of shirts, and Shae and Lina were able to alternate, so while we were shooting one of them, the other was changing, and visa versa.
Namasté.
One of the things I never considered was how long it would take to actually shoot all the pieces, especially since we got started so late. We ended up getting done with our shoot at around 10pm that night, with over 100 pieces shot! All in all, while I had never done a shoot like that before, I was able to pull from my experience, and the shoot was a success! The most important thing I learned from the shoot was that communication is the key!
If you're interested in learning more, or how to set up your own photoshoot, you may be interested in my photography tutoring service, where I can share with you my experience, tips and tricks, and best practices, especially when working with models for the first time. Check out Developing Education, and book a session today!