"You belong among the wildflowers.
You belong somewhere close to me.
Far away from your trouble and worry.
You belong somewhere you feel free..." - Tom Petty
There's no denying that every model that I work with is beautiful. They all have something that draws you to them when you see them... For me, it always starts with their eyes. However, once I have the opportunity to work with them, I get to see their personalities. It's their personalities that help build the trust, respect, and friendship that is required within a photographer/model relationship.
After working with me on numerous automotive shoots, Nicole and I discussed working on something focused specifically on her. I wanted to work on something that captured the beauty of her personality and the bond that I have with her. She is always full of positive vibes and encouragement, and I truly admire her style!
Although we had agreed on a basic idea for the shoot, the shoot itself was sort of spontaneous. Nicole texted me and told me that she had the day off work, she was going to get outfits together, and she'd be over! Now, normally I'd be rushing to get a list of ideas and poses together...but instead I had confidence that we'd figure that out during the shoot.
Nicole arrived with an abundance of outfits (which I always encourage from my models), but this time I didn't have Alayna there to help. Normally, I try to leave outfits, hair, and makeup up to the models (or Alayna and the models) to make sure that they're comfortable...but this time Nicole insisted that I help. I'll be honest, it was fun...because I was able to imagine different photos based on each outfit. Finally, an outfit was chosen... a gray bralette paired with a maroon skirt with a bohemian design to it.
The funny thing is that it actually took us both a few minutes to figure out the poses and the flow of the shoot. We literally stood there for a couple minutes laughing, because we were "lost" without a vehicle in the shoot. However, that quickly changed once Nicole began dancing and twirling around...she instantly transformed into that "free spirit" that we were looking for! It sounds cliche, but it's something truly magical.
This shoot was by no means complex, but it was probably one of the most emotional and enjoyable shoots that Nicole and I have done to date. It's the first shoot where I was able to somewhat incorporate dance into a shoot. I'm proud of that, because dance is something that Nicole holds close to her heart. This shoot was full of laughs and little moments that make it special. As the years pass, I'm sure that we will find ways to improve upon this shoot and look back with nostalgia.
Photography relies on emotion...and my job as a photographer is to capture that emotion, while being respectful to my subject.
The beautiful models that I work with always show so much emotion in their poses, eyes, smirks, and smiles. Sometimes I feel like I fail to capture the true beauty of this emotion. I will continue to learn and improve. I look forward to many more fun shoots like this!