By the nature of my job, I deal with a few unexpected challenges every day. Solving those challenges on time is something I do well, and I enjoy it. I have a family with kids, and we have a lot of hobbies but very little time. I rarely plan shoots in detail because it takes too much time and effort. Instead, I come to the shoot prepared for various scenarios and expect I will find good shots anywhere.
Last year, I was photographing square format black and white portraits as a project. Avery, an established local model, responded to my TFP call, which almost never happens. She explained she liked my style and wanted some pictures for herself, not posed specifically for other people. We agreed to meet in a park I had never been to, but it looked promising. It had trees, a lake, a walking bridge - everything needed to create nice portraits.
It was one of the first warm weekends in spring. When we arrived, we discovered that a million other people had the same idea to visit the park at the same time. People were everywhere. Additionally, after a few minutes of shooting, we both ended up crying profusely because the pollen triggered our first allergies of the season. We were not prepared for this! I offered to reschedule, but Avery refused because she would not find another time to do it and she decided to brave the conditions. This is why she appeared sad in many pictures.
We walked around the park but couldn’t find any spot free of people. Dozen people were taking pictures on a pedestrian bridge with their phones. And then, just outside the park, on the other side of the loop road, there was a huge patch of green grass, and nobody was there. Location number 1!
We walked some more and found a lake overflow and a small pedestrian bridge over it. Underneath the bridge, in the shadow, a concrete construction created a perfect backdrop. Location 2 for many pictures. The lake itself became a clean backdrop for some pictures too, so easy! Then we found a fenced-off part of the park. Location 3! There were a lot of people around, but just at the right angle and moment, all of them disappeared behind the fence structure.
In the end, it was a great shoot, and everyone had a great time.
