Shooting Diary - a strange Sunday afternoon shoot (NSFW) (Patreon)

Let me tell you a story...

Late last week a photographer (who has been to workshops I organised) invited me to a shoot he was putting together - an apartment in the city, 4 models, 5 or 6 photographers. "Great," I say, "Count me in."

So I turn up to the apartment to be told that 3 of the models have flaked - so only one model, Bianca, pictured above. One photographer turns up, learns there is only one model, and leaves - so there are four photographers and the organiser.

"No probs," says I, and I start setting up the lighting I brought (two Godox AD200pros plus various modifiers: a beauty dish, gridded softbox and 80cm umbrella softbox).

It then turns out that one of the photographers has never shot before - he doesn't even have a camera, the organiser is lending him one. The organiser spends the session helping him out and he ends up taking more photos with his iPhone than on the camera.

The 4th photographer doesn't shoot at all, just sits around (sometimes only just out of shot) chatting with the organiser and occasionally throwing in ideas.

So in the end there are only 2 of us shooting, and I seem to have de facto started running the session, since I am the one setting up lights and so picking locations in the apartment. Even to the extent that it is me who puts together "I want to shoot a shower scene" with "we need to finish at 5:30" and comes up with "well, we'd better do that now, then."

I try to do the right thing - stopping every so often and asking if anyone else wants to shoot, but in the end I am doing most.

So, I am very grateful to the organiser for putting the afternoon together - it didn't turn out how he wanted, but I certainly got good value from it.

(Yes, when I process these there I will post them here.)