Lockdown has taught me many things. It’s been a time for reflection and a time for adaptation. It’s taught me the value of family and making the best of a terrible situation (and things don’t come much worse than a worldwide pandemic). However, lockdown has let me try things that I have never tried before.
Magazine Photoshoot via FaceTime!
For example, at the end of March, I had no idea that a few short weeks later, I would be doing a couple of shoots for Trend Magazine (https://trendmagazine.co.uk), and that I’d get to work with fantastic models Elle Fyfe and Stephanie Wood – and all through the medium of FaceTime!
The shoots were a great learning curve for me, but also a lot of fun. I’m definitely more used to working with babies and families, but these lovely ladies put me at my ease and were terrific to work with.
During our shoots, I got to learn a little bit about both models and was delighted to learn that Elle was also a writer so it, therefore, made perfect sense to invite her to do a guest blog all about our shoot. I hope you enjoy!
FaceTime Photoshoot with Susan Renee, by Elle Fyfe
“If you live in Aberdeen, you’d be hard pressed to find a person who hasn’t heard of Trend Magazine. The free publication is filled with local news, interesting articles, and style & interior design inspiration.
So, when I was approached by Trend’s own resident photographer, Donna Murray, to take part in a FaceTime photo shoot for the June/July issue, I jumped at the chance! Funnily enough, I was on the cover of the last June/July issue, so it was very fitting to be featured in this year’s edition.
I definitely wouldn’t label myself as a “model”, but having done a catwalk, and featuring in a couple of product promoting Instagram posts, I can absolutely say that I enjoy the creativity that goes into a shoot. These days, I’m more often found curating other photographers blogs, or writing my own over on my website.
Preparing For The Shoot
I was paired up with photographer Susan Renée of Kingshill Studios (who you all know as you’re reading this on her website!). After a quick chat over Instagram, Susan advised me on a few important things that would be helpful on the day. Namely that my phone should be fully charged and that I shouldn’t wear white – it tends to be very overexposed when using FaceTime and a phone camera.
She also asked me to locate the best places in my flat for natural light to come through, which was maybe a little harder than I thought it would be. Being on the ground floor, a skylight just wasn’t an option!
Luckily, as I’m very into photography myself I had a tripod at my disposal so steady my phone, but I’ve heard a tin of beans and some masking tape make for a great alternative. After that, we agreed on a date and that was that.
On The Day
Getting ready for this shoot was quite a bit different from the previous Trend feature. This time around, I didn’t have a team to select my outfits and accessories. Nor did I have make-up artists and a hairstylist to make me look flawless! So, despite the fact I was in my own home, I was feeling a little nervous. Regardless, I got up, put on a pretty summer dress and did the best I could with what I had.
Meeting Susan over FaceTime was an equal parts strange and lovely experience! I probably had a similar feeling initially to someone doing a Skype interview for a job… but she made me feel comfortable immediately. We chatted about how we were both coping in the madness of lockdown and it very much felt like we were making a collaborative effort to get the best pictures possible. The light coming in through my living room windows that day was not the absolute best, so we worked to create interesting shapes and scenes with chairs, stools and the all-important window sill.
You would never guess that one room could offer so many different options for photography locations. But with a little effort (read: moving clunky furniture into position!) it can completely change the look of a photo. Susan directed me to sit, stand, smile and strike a pose everywhere from the floor to high up on the window. We managed to shoot two different looks that day, and all in just over an hour.
Although Susan was happy with the images that had come from the shoot, we decided that it couldn’t hurt to try and get a few more pictures on a day where the light was better. This is a bit of a tricky one with the Scottish weather, but we decided on another day and an earlier time and crossed our fingers for sunshine!
Luckily, although dark clouds were threatening, we got some beautiful beams and dappled light to shine directly onto the sofa. This took some of the guesswork out of our location hunt and we cracked on with shoot number two.
This time round, with Susan’s guidance and encouragement (it’s always nice to be told you look lovely!) I was dancing about on my sofa and swishing my vintage dress around whilst trying not to look too off balance. We also enlisted the help of a mirror, which created some beautiful reflective light effects and really introduced something new and fun to the experience.
I definitely came away from both days of shooting feeling like I’d had a productive and enjoyable hour. It’s always a little nerve wracking when you’re waiting to see how the photos turned out, but I was sure we had some great shots and Susan’s professionalism and positivity were very reassuring.
As well as photographing me, Susan was also asked to take pictures of the beautiful, Stephanie Wood. If her experience was anything like mine, I know they had fun! The photos they created together are bright, summery and everything that a magazine like Trend looks for. But don’t trust me on that, here are a few of the images from their session.”
Thanks again to Elle for her insight into our shoot, and if you’d like to see the published Trend article, you can find it here: https://issuu.com/trend_aberdeen/docs/trend_jun_jul_20
To find out more about my FaceTime Photoshoots, please go to www.kingshillstudios.co.uk/stay-at-home
