It’s often thought that creative people are disorganised but if you look at successful artists, they all have a system. Even the artist Tracy Emin, famous for her Turner-prize-winning unmade bed, has methods she follows for all her artwork. Planning is an enabler for creativity because it frees everyone’s minds from the mundane so they can focus on being creative.
Here’s the sequence of how I work:
I try to have a call with the client before the photoshoot or if there is no time before, we sit down for a quick coffee before the shoot and I ask about yourself, the images you want and how they will be used. I’ll send you an invoice for a deposit to confirm the booking as well as the shoot plan which may also include a mood board.
I can shoot at my studio in Hammersmith or I can set up my studio at your office, design studio or another location such as your home. Setup on location takes about an hour. It helps if there’s car parking nearby as there will be quite a bit of heavy equipment.
Although I do like to plan as this gives the best results, the actual shoot will have a relaxed, informal, creative feel to it – photoshoots should be fun! During the shoot, I’ll be talking a lot, there’ll be music playing. Within a short time, being in a photo portrait studio will change from being an unfamiliar experience to your new normal. You’ll relax and start to enjoy the photoshoot and we’ll get some great portraits. We’ll review the photos as I shoot (they pop up on a laptop screen) which is a great coaching tool for me in advising my clients on how to pose. The shoot ends when we have photos which you are completely happy with, often this happens in less time than planned but sometimes (if there’s not a shoot immediately after) we will shoot for longer to ensure you are totally happy with what you see on screen.
To use an analogy from music, if the Raw photo is the score, the retouched final image is the interpretation of that score, just like a musician giving their own spin to a piece of music. To save money, most portrait photographers give their retouching (also known as “photo editing”) to someone in a country with low labour costs. Some even use automated retouching software (nice idea but the tech isn’t there yet for high-quality results). I look after the whole process personally end-to-end. By doing the retouch myself, I ensure that the final photos fit exactly with our concept. Blemishes are taken out while still retaining a natural look. For headshot and portrait shoots, you will have your photos within 48 hours, same day is possible for an additional fee.
I create an online photo gallery enabling you to view and download your retouched final images.
