The Photographic Journey Part Two

Preparation for a photo shoot is a process.  There are decisions to be made about clothes.  What is the image one wants to project?  What photographs well?  What looks good on my body?  What colors look good on camera and against the skin and the backdrop.  And what jewelry to wear with outfits?  What about shoes?  Will they be seen in the shot?  And then there is hair and make-up?  Do my own?  Hire a professional?  Decisions. Decisions.

I had learned that when doing a photo shoot you need a lot more make-up than one would normally wear because the lights and camera absorb it.  What would seem in the mirror to be the amount of make-up a hooker would put on before heading out to work, looks like you've barely put on enough make-up to define the fact that you have eyes and lips.  During the previous week I did a dry run.  I tried on different outfits to see how they would look and fit and if they would look good on camera.  Its a deal.  There is a reason people hire stylists.

The morning of first photo shoot dawned.  It was August and it was warm.  The photographer was going to come to my house to do the head shot and then we were going to head outside.  I had spent way to much time doing my hair and make-up.  I had decided to do my own for the first photo shoot.  I was ready.  Selfie to start.

Selfie before the first shoot

I was nervous, after all, I'm used to being behind the camera.  Dennis, the photographer arrived and set up.  We did the test shots.  I was so uncomfortable.  I felt stiff, I looked stiff.  I was worried about how I looked and how I was smiling.  I was doing a lot of negative head talk.  It showed.  We finished the head shot and then headed to downtown to do some outdoor shots.  It was hot out.  And I was still uncomfortable.  There was a lot of snapping going on but, truth be told, I was literally a hot mess.  It was so warm that we called it a day and Dennis agreed to finish up a few days later.  I could see in the photos that I was really not having a good time.

Day One 

Day One 

There were several more shots taken after these.  The photographer didn't even show them to me.  They were that bad.

Two days later I was scheduled for my goddess photo shoot (not the word I would use about myself, but it works).  I had my outfits picked out and I had booked professional hair and make-up.  In my prep sessions with the photographer I told her that I wanted to do a shoot in my wedding dress--my 25th wedding anniversary was coming up and I loved my dress and I wanted to honor the day.  She was so supportive of the idea.  So on Saturday I loaded up all of my stuff and headed up to the studio.  I met the make-up artist and was glammed up.  All the while with the negative self talk--I'm too old, my eyelashes had almost disappeared because of the medication I had been on, my jawline was slack, blah blah blah . . .  She was wonderful and she did a great job--I looked almost presentable.

Ready for the Shoot with Elise the Magician

The photographers arrived and I felt so unworthy and insignificant until we started to interact.  When we first started we did a lot of talking, they asked about things I liked, anything to get the conversation going and get me comfortable.  As we talked, Heidi would give me directions on how to pose and Tara would assist with lighting and wind.  We would laugh and talk and then I'd be in a different pose--sometimes I felt like a contortionist.  We joked that it wasn't good unless it hurt.  I now have an entirely new respect for models.  After the first outfit change we jumped in the car and headed out to a park where more photos were taken.  A quick clothing change in the car and it was round three.  We headed back to the studio and did the last outfit before it was time to put on my wedding dress.  I had a vision in my head what I wanted and I shared it with Heidi and Tara.  I was asked what song would be appropriate to the vignette.  I chose "Color My World" by Chicago.  It was the only song that Tom sang with the band and he would always dedicate it to me.  It was followed by several other tunes by Chicago.  Tara was working the lights and the fan.  I looked over at her and I saw that she was tearing up.  Heidi then asked me what my favorite dance song was--"Uptown Funk"  She told me to get up and dance.  How often do you get to dance in your wedding dress again?  I remember how much fun it was to dance in at my wedding.  By the time we were done for the day I felt so different.  I felt confident and comfortable and mentally and physically exhausted. I don't know how to describe it, but the day was an event, a transformative one.  I would not see the images for another month.  It was going to be a long wait.

The next day I had the follow-up shoot scheduled with the first photographer.  I slept in the makeup since it was so awesome. It held up well overnight. I should always look this good in the morning.

Makeup Survives the Night

It was going to be another hot day and I really didn't want to be a hot mess again, but it looked likely.  I changed into my outfit and waited for Dennis to arrive.  We did the first several shots in my house.  I wanted to stay cool.  He didn't have lights with him, so we worked with reflectors and he took some interesting shots.  It was different this time, I was so much more comfortable in my body, how to position it, and in following direction.  The pictures showed that I was more relaxed.  We headed over to the bridge over the creek in the valley for some outdoor shots.  It was really hot out, but we were able to get some work done and we wrapped it up.  I had images within a few days.  I was happy with them.  I could see the difference from a few days earlier.

            

I was half way through my plan.