Behind the Scenes

When I started my career in photography THIRTY YEARS AGO (what?! crazy) Behind the Scenes pics were not really a thing. Occasionally, you’d see a shot of the set, crew or photographer but it was rare. Now everyone carries a phone camera and documents life so it’s natural to see more BTS photo shoots, especially on social media! This is a 360 change in perspective for me because during a photo session I’m focused mainly on my subject. Seeing the whole thing from a mom, dad or friend’s point of view is so fun… and if the point of view isn’t of my backside that’s even more fun, haha!

I have been culling work from the past year for my portfolio and came across a few Behind the Scenes images to share with you. As you can see, I keep things simple and am primarily a natural light photographer.

The white/silver reflector heavily featured in these photos is my favorite tool for lighting on location and often I’ll get family members to help hold it for me or find a place to prop it up. I could bring a stand and clamp but that’s just more gear to schlep, so I don’t.

Speaking of schlepping, I have been thinking about getting one of these collapsible heavy duty folding wagons. I think it would work great in all but the most rugged situations. This is at the top of my wish list for 2024 so you might see it in future Behind the Scenes shots!

At some point I’m also going to snap pictures of my camera bag at both the beginning and end of a session and do a “how it started/how it’s going” post. Typically, I arrive to a photo session with each camera body and lens capped and cradled neatly in my camera bag. By the end everything is open and floating around the bag in a hot mess. No matter how I try to keep things sorted I get caught up in creating and forget. No worries, all the gear survives.

Next time we work together on your family portraits, senior pictures, baby pictures or any other type of photo session, feel free to document the whole thing and text me the best moments. Just remember flattering angles, people!