I had my first-ever studio shoot this weekend for the Revealing Fashion website and look book. I’d been hired by Rah to shoot the Felicity Hair Salon opening party and, upon meeting me and seeing my work from this event, he asked if I’d sign on for an ongoing monthly studio shoot for his new business. I eagerly took the job, and then I realized I’d never done any studio shooting before. I’d never taken a class, hadn’t read much on the topic, and certainly never delved into practicing techniques. However, I was confident in my abilities as a photographer overall, so I kept my word and did the shoot. The week beforehand, I started to get a wee bit nervous as I crammed various lighting techniques and strobist notes into my head. It was almost like being in school again, except more enjoyable. By the end of it, I felt so much better about the upcoming shoot and just hoped my knowledge would translate into practice.

The shoot was at a studio near NYU – I highly recommend checking out space4shoots.com. At only $20/hr and with all sorts of equipment at your disposal, it’s a complete steal. We utilized a white backdrop and I arranged monolights with a softbox and shoot-through umbrella accordingly. I had plenty of time to take test shots and tweak the lighting. I’d alter the angles, raise the heights of the lightstands, and adjust the power of the monolights. I continued to make minor tweaks throughout the shoot. It was also my first encounter with Pocket Wizards! I was definitely slightly phobic of the triggers before, but once I started using them I realized how easy they are! With one click of the shutter, I can fire two off-camera lights simultaneously – pretty cool stuff for a girl who’s always been a slave to natural lighting.

The shoot itself was pretty awesome. Rah walked in with a box full of wine bottles and an ipod playlist to psych up all the guests. Friends, acquaintances, and designers all showed up to mingle, network, and step up to my set for some camera time. I was given little direction, but was told to focus on any funky accessories, hair, or tattoos. I took some full-body shots as well. Rah really just wanted everyone’s personality to shine through in the photos. Everything was done with my 70-200mm lens and only a few times I found it to be a wee bit too tight. Some people needed a little help loosening up and having fun with the shots, while others knew exactly how to pose and loved it. These images will ultimately be used on Rah’s website as a sort of look book gallery, so they all have a uniform plain white background and narrow depth of field. I probably should have used a higher f-stop, actually. It was all so different from my typical shooting style, but that’s what made it so exciting. It felt so good to pull off the shoot and stretch myself as a photographer. I’ve only just delved into off-camera lighting, but I can only imagine all the images I can create by tweaking different variables. It excites me to have this whole other world of opportunity in photography, and I’m eager to try my hand at it again soon.