A glimpse at a day in one life
Yesterday was my day off from my day job (sailing coach) and I chose to try and live the photographer life. Or at least one type of photographer. I need to figure out what type of photography business I want to run and to run a business I think you first need business so, I found 3 clients to work for on my off day. I started my day by waking up late because I stayed up to late watching Chase Jarvis videos getting motivated to create. I scrambled to inhale some oatmeal and throw hot coffee with frozen coconut milk cubes in my water bottle for the go. I had scheduled a shoot for an apparel company in the states called What The Fin? The make fun shirts for the beach, boating and water lifestyle. I wanted to give them the tropical vibes with a surfing influence. Their slogan is “Soaking Up the Good Life.” Surfing is one way that I’ve been doing that here in the DR so I thought id let that influence my shoot.
After I though I had enough shots for the first client some clouds came in and the downpour started. When the rain finally stoped I was on to client #2 of the day at 9:34am. Now, when you see the pictures you will recognize the model from the first shoot. Im on a budget here so I work out some deals. The model in my images is also starting her own business, chains with shells to adorn your bikini body on the beach. I needed a model for the morning so, we struck a deal for her to get some images for her business.
She was really easy to work with, very confident, not afraid to ask to try new things. Even when we were shooting for the first brand she was never shy to say, “hey, lets try this” “quick come over here, horses are running by.” Ive never worked with a bossy model but I think it makes it easier when they are assertive. It was a slow start because we had really just met but I was happy with the images. I liked the look of the 50mm f1.8 canon lens at low f-stop to focus on the products, where as the shirts I wanted more depth of field so I used a 70-200mm f2.8 Canon. The middle of the day was full of editing and meetings. One meeting for my day job, scheduling and budgeting. The other meeting for another photo shoot for a local company that my roommate reached out to. Hopefully a post on that to come!
As the light got closer to the golden hour I scheduled my last shoot of the day with for a surfing suit brand from the states called IMSY. We became connected a while back through instagram of all places. They found out I was here and had also just started sponsoring a local surfer. They wanted me to get some profile/head shots to say “hey, look who joined the team”. It was a stark contrast to the morning. The model/surfer was a bit younger, less experienced and very shy but willing to learn. Step one was getting her to relax so, I started to crack as many jokes as I could, danced around like a crazy person and all the while trying to take some shots. The second I knew I had a good shot, I spun the camera around to show her she can do this! “you look great!””your a natural!” “I love what you did there!” Confidence boosters.
I never thought my photography career would lead me to taking bikini pictures all day but i guess thats what people think of in the tropics. At the end of the day I realized that there is no one type of subject that I like to shoot, i just enjoy the challenge of creating quality images. So many women are self conscious about their body in a bikini. They worry about their belly, legs, butt, and on and on. At the end of the day its the look in the eyes, their head tilt, some moment that make the image. Its about conveying relaxed confidence. My job is to make people feel confident before I can make a picture. I don’t know if I will do product and fashion photography till i’m old and grey. But as I sit here in the Vagamundo Coffee shop, drinking cold brew coffee, listening to alternative music, eating a smoothie bowl(thats what you do when you blog). When I think about being a photographer(no mater the genera), i smile.At the end of the day thats all I can ask for. I love the challenge, I love to work with people and I love to create. I love that you read this to the end, thanks! ( I couldn’t resist one picture of my basic photographer set up today)