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Crazy
Mixed Up Sitting
Brooke
was the first model visiting me during my Model
Marathon in late May. She is a Seattle-based model who comes
through this area every so often. I had a great time photographing
her during her first sitting, and I was happy to have the opportunity to
make pictures with her again.
During
her next visit to the Portland area, we had set up a second sitting,
but at the last minute, she had car trouble & couldn't make
it. Such things happen, but it was no big deal to me. She gave
me a rain check, and we set up
another sitting for a few weeks later.
The
problem was that she rang my door bell exactly one week earlier than I
expected her! We had mixed up our dates!
Man,
am I glad that I was home that evening -- it would have been a terrific disaster
had she rang the bell while no one was home! I try to be an
easy-going guy by taking such things in stride. She agreed to stay
a little longer, to give me time to set up my living room as a studio,
and we decided to go ahead with a sitting.
Normally,
I wouldn't bother sharing this story here, but it is slightly
relevant. Anticipating a sitting is a big deal for me -- it's
still exciting, even after thousands of exposures with dozens of
models. Here's the key point -- for me, a sitting starts with some
level of preparation. Before the model arrives, I have typically
completed this:
- I
have spent some time planning a few lighting setup & posing
ideas.
- I
have taken all the furniture out of my living room & moved all
the lighting equipment into it.
- For
returning models, I review the last sittings and have tried to come
up with concepts that will raise the bar for both of us.
- I
communicate the relevant concepts to the model beforehand (although
some concepts I keep to myself to surprise the model).
So,
for me, a typical sitting is maybe 60%-70% planned and the rest
improvised. For this sitting, the ratio was somewhat reversed --
this sitting was more improvised than the typical sitting for me.
See if you can tell the difference, if there is any. |
