It’s been an interesting few months. I didn’t shoot much from September 2023 through to January 2024. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to shoot. Normally my way out of this is to set some themes and go and experiment. I work on the principle that being out there and being active doing something will help me figure it out along the way. At worst, I’ll be gathering evidence about what’s my current style vs what it isn’t, what subject matter that I’m interested in vs what I’m not, how much effort I want to put into different activities within a shoot vs assembling a suitable team.
At the same time as I was pondering this, Xenia at Zavod Studio in Sheffield was considering a move to a larger studio.
So since February, I’ve been shooting in the newer, larger Zavod Studio with a set of themes that I’m exploring.
I’ve chosen to keep creative, allowing TFP / collaborative shooting where there’s been an emphasis on all people coming together to create. That will change, but it’s suiting my purposes right now.
The way this has worked out is that I’ve created multiple mood boards, all of them as sub-boards that are part of an overall inspiration moodboard. I provide that to the models, asking if they’d like to shoot and if any of the themes interest them. I then draw up a shoot plan and we collaborate on the details; exactly what the themes are, levels of clothing, who brings what, who builds/buys what, travel arrangements, shoot order and what’s required per theme (makeup, hair, clothing, lighting, props, set, etc).
It does mean that I’m now managing a backlog of:
- Assembling teams for specific dates
- Developing shoot plans
- Sourcing / assembling / building / painting props
- Sourcing costumes
- Shooting (and all the charging batteries, packing, unloading, etc that goes with a shoot)
- Backing files up
- Reviewing / culling images
- Editing
- Publishing
- Communicating with past and future teams
- Generating mood boards for new themes
Here’s a link to the general moodboard and sub boards
If you’re happy to travel to Sheffield for a Sunday shoot, get in touch. I’m looking for models, HMUAS, stylists, set designers, dancers, movement directors or other creatives involved in photoshoots.
Additionally, there are some weekday evenings available, but these take a bit more time to organise.