Brooke, Second Sitting, August, 2004

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.