For some that answer isn't as simple as it seems. Anyone who has ever had writer's block or the artistic equivalent knows what I mean. As one studies the works of others it can be easy to fall into the "right way" trap. An inability to exactly reproduce an image like someone else, or the concern that an idea has "already been done" can feel crippling.
And to that I emphatically repeat: there is more than one "right answer" to a creative question.
Here's how the exercise worked:
The Challenge:
Create at least one image interpreting a single theme with only one hour to prepare and one hour to shoot.
The Rules
- Participants could use anything they brought with them or found on location
- Nobody knew the theme before we met
- Each photographer had one model to work with
- Each photographer-model team had one hour to prepare and one hour to shoot
The Experience
Most people aren't used to the idea of receiving a concept or theme and having to deliver within two hours, models included. Asking them to come prepared for "anything" can make creative people nervous. Another point: models don't get to choose a photo shoot theme very often. Usually it's a photographer, art director or someone else who comes up with a theme and recruits a model afterwards.
For this exercise we allowed the models to be the ones to suggest themes. We collected nine possible theme ideas from our models and chose one at random. Each photographer was paired with a model and the countdown began!
For this exercise we allowed the models to be the ones to suggest themes. We collected nine possible theme ideas from our models and chose one at random. Each photographer was paired with a model and the countdown began!
The task was easier for some than others.
Here are their stories.
Here are their stories.
The Theme: Movement
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| Photographer: Jason Kamerath, High ISO Photography | Model: Gabby Phillips |
High ISO Photography
Style: Fine Art
Photographer: Jason Kamerath, High ISO Photography
Model: Gabby Philipps
About the Experience
Not having control of the environment was a struggle for Jason. His first thought was to use dance for motion but he didn't want to do what someone else might do. He opted to use extended exposures instead. The catch: he'd never done extended exposures outside. "Normally I have months to play with it before I'm ready to execute [an idea]," he explains. Gabby didn't feel as prepared as she wanted either, but as a team they didn't give up. Gabby has beautiful long black hair and Jason set up a flash. In the shelter of shade and with some post-processing he pulled together a final image.
Jason explained:
"It's like when you throw paint at a canvas. You just hope that it sticks. Then when I finish that underpainting and I figure out where to take it, that's how I finalize things."
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| "All Things" | Photographer: KaLee Kilgrow | Model: Madi Beckstead |
KaLee Kilgrow Photography
Style: Fine Art Photography
Photographer: KaLee Kilgrow, KaLee Kilgrow Photography
Model: Madi Beckstead
About the Experience
The environment was the hardest for KaLee, who hardly ever shoots in a park. "I try to keep my work feeling timeless, and a chain link fence and fresh cut grass isn't really the definition [of that]."
KaLee's model, Madi, admits that movement was a challenge for her. "We decided to first start with wardrobe," the model explained. "Showing movement without video is hard to do in a still." So they chose to interpret movement as the lack of movement, like using flowing hair but not a moving body.
About "All Things"
"After hearing the theme 'movement' Alice in Wonderland popped into my head, the part where Alice falls down the rabbit hole. That image is overdone, but it's almost an unwritten rule that every photographer, at some point in their photographic career, creates this image. So we set out to create a hole in the ground and the character falling into it. It was easy, simple, and I feel like it portrayed the theme beautifully. It wasn't until after I got home and started editing it that I realized the image we had created meant so much more to me. I find most of my inspiration to create comes from the Bible. As I was piecing the image together from seven separate images, I realized the model was not falling into the unknown darkness, rather that she had chosen to take a leap of faith that may lead her to ultimate joy and happiness, or it may lead to her demise. She is willingly jumping into the unknown simply to find out what is on the other side."
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| "Withered" | Photographer: KaLee Kilgrow | Model: Madi Beckstead |
About "Withered"
"What I immediately thought about was death and character's body being absorbed into the earth while her soul moved on. We flipped her hair to show her soul leaving her body, and we covered her in dirt and vines to show the earth taking over her body."These are 2 of the five scenes KaLee chose. You can see all of them released in time at KaLee's website.
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Wendy Hurst Portrait
Style: Storytelling Conceptual Portrait Photography
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| "Ebb and Flow" | Photographer: Wendy Hurst Portrait | Model: Winter Rose Beaudry |
Photographer: Wendy Hurst, Wendy Hurst Portrait
Model: Winter Rose Beaudry
About the Experience
(This one's mine.)
It's hard approaching a concept on location without knowing what it's going to be. One can't prepare for every possible option in advance, so I limited my options by choosing wardrobe accessories that I could fit into any theme. I brought three different fabrics from my stash to make into prop gowns if needed: red for a "cheerful" color, black for a darker look, and brown as a neutral. Everything else I brought--a candlestick, a seashell, bead necklaces, needle and thread, smoke bombs--were all "just in case".
I considered being more abstract about the theme but Winter has 15 years of dancing experience that I couldn't ignore. "--Movement comes naturally to me," Winter explained. "I immediately thought of the best outfit I had brought, which luckily was a leotard, and started thinking of what movement was to me." Her abilities allowed us to try things I couldn't have even guessed ahead of time, like balancing on a bridge railing as if it were a balance beam, or leaping gracefully through the air from jagged rocks with fabric flowing beautifully behind. So we stuck with the actual meaning of movement and trusted our surroundings to guide the way.
I've never used a smoke bomb like this before. It's more like a grenade. To light it one holds the "grenade" portion in one hand, rips the trigger off using the other, and sparks ignite the powder inside the grenade until it smokes. Mine give off about 20 seconds of good-quality smoke before it dissipates into the distance in great, impressive volume. One moment we had a controlled flow of smoke and the next it was filling the whole north end of the park! No one came looking for us after the bursting sound it made but I probably wouldn't use it in such a public place again... :)
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| "Ebb and Flow" | Photographer: Wendy Hurst Portrait | Model: Winter Rose Beaudry |
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| "Swept" | Photographer: Wendy Hurst Portrait | Model: Winter Rose Beards |
Our Creative Team
Passionate people yield passionate results. What will your mind see today?
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| Left to Right: Gabby Philipps (Model), Jason Kamerath (High ISO Photography), Winter Rose Beaudry (Model), Wendy Hurst (Wendy Hurst Portrait), Madi Beckstead (Model), KaLee Kilgrow (KaLee Kilgrow Photography) |
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