Building Your Photoshoot Team

1920's Themed shoot, Figo Brentwood

It's late into the shoot. We’ve banked several shots from the shot list so are feeling positive and willing to experiment with some ideas.

S - Can we do something with this? **points to patterned glass**

J - Try shoot through it, place hand on glass?

A looks doubtful as we explain our idea but accommodates us anyway.

First shot: Interesting effect with the lighting and glass. Hand is the feature. Light halves the face. Not a bad image.

Second shot: Similar but hand draws even more attention as I shoot closer. Face distorted by the lights. More abstract result.

Third shot: A adjusts her pose - cups hand slightly and tilts head towards hand. Subtle change instinctively executed by A. Her face is now the feature. The contrast of dress and skin on  the chest draws you up to the face also. The shaped hand through the glass is now more aligned with the rest of the composition and its overall abstract feeling. Line of lights now lower on face so face is clearer than before. Beautiful resulting image.

The third shot is one of my favourite images from my Figo 1920s shoot. Completely unplanned. Created by reacting to the location and the team working together. The team (not just the photographer) were invested in creating the best photography we could.

For me, this underlines the importance of building your photoshoot team. It will take time as you experiment with different people on test shoots. You need to create trust, understanding and connect with the team members. Not only should they be experts in what they do but have traits you admire .

I love working on creative shoots. That requires a creative team but can they help me deliver the shots I need for the project? I lead my shoots with a strong emphasis on collaboration and that requires respect, openness and willingness to actively participate with your perspective.  

The creatives on this shoot have different styles. Even so, their openness to experiment and curiosity to create something different meant they had valid ideas to bring to the shoot. I know A and J from before the shoot and knew they would be fantastic to work with. And, I had worked on editorials before and had experience with the shoot's theme.

I've worked with A before through a mutual photographer friend who I was assisting. I am drawn to her editorial energy and movement background. A's style is fine art editorial boudoir and emotive portraiture. Her images are sensual, vulnerable and confident. Elegant sculptural shapes, timeless and sophisticated.

J is a fellow LIOP PPC alumni (actually we met on our very first day at LIOP). We share the same training from LIOP, and J's had experience on various fashion shoots, so, I knew he'd be more than capable to assist. We've had catch ups since graduating and I'm drawn to his open creativity. J's style is documentary portrait photography with a cinematic, editorial edge. The portraits are unposed and show the personality and environment in a natural way.

My current portfolio shows editorial fashion and beauty. Intentional, refined, luxury, polished editing (but still an element of natural). Overall magazine standard. I feel that I'm experimenting and still forming my signature photography style.

Very different styles across the team but we were able to work together well and deliver a successful shoot.