Why I Started Doing Test Shoots Again

So I almost did not even do this shoot.

Not because I did not want to. More like, you know how life gets. You got stuff going on, the studio is busy, and test shoots kind of fall to the bottom of the list without you even noticing.

Tatiana and I had not shot together since before the pandemic. So when we finally linked back up I wanted to actually be intentional about it. Gray suit, red backdrop, Rembrandt lighting. Going for that high fashion editorial feel.

Then I pulled out the backdrop and it was wrinkled.

And I mean, I could have stopped. But I just kind of asked myself, what if this is actually the vibe. And it was. So we kept going.

Here is the thing about test shoots though. I used to do them all the time when I was building my portfolio. You just find people with ‘a look’, you try concepts and figure out what you are capable of. But then client work picked up and clients started bringing their own concepts. And I would just use those to create. Which worked. But after a while you look up and you realize you have kind of been doing the same work on repeat. Not because you ran out of ideas. You just stopped making space for your own.

Now I am older, I got a family, I work a nine to five on top of running the studio. Free time is not just sitting there. So if I want to try a lighting concept I have never done before, I have to make that time. Nobody is going to hand it to me.

That is what this shoot was.

The setup was not complicated.

One light, V-flat on the shadow side, little fill at the bottom for her pants. And Tatiana just doing what she does.

And that is worth saying. Getting good photos from someone who knows how to move is not about doing a lot. It is the opposite actually. Sometimes one hand in the pocket and just existing in the frame is the whole thing. That is a skill. Not everybody has it.

Moodboard

But also, you do not need a model to create something like this. Think about the people around you. Your friend with the cool look who has never been in front of a camera. Ask them. Worst they say is no.

Oh and I learned something on this shoot that I probably should have known years ago. The diameter of your softbox is basically how far it should sit from your subject. That is it. I had been moving lights back and forth for years thinking I was really doing something. This shoot humbled me and I am cool with that.

I am going to keep doing these. Not sure where it goes yet but I am curious enough to keep going. That is enough for me right now.