I think I’ve probably mentioned this like in every blog I’ve posted before. But you all are gonna have to deal with it, at least for this last blog, because when it comes down to it, I’m proud of myself.
Like I said, I’ve mentioned this before, but if you aren’t aware, on my last photoshoot I did with my sister I met a couple guys who were also taking pictures. Before I left, I asked them if they’d be down to shoot sometime, and they said they would be. Why am I proud of myself? Because that is something totally out of my comfort zone. Going up to random people and asking to shoot with them? Not my forte. But it is something I’m trying to get better at, collaborating with other people, and there’s only so many avenues you can take to get that done.
Anyways, I’ve been talking to one of the guys, Kemal, on Snapchat for a few days now, and we decided to try and set up a shoot. I’m pretty busy currently on weekdays, so we opted for a weekend date at the same mall parking lot we met at. We ended up settling on Saturday afternoon.
Well, that plan happened, and while I was admittedly pretty nervous, I was also super excited, and I think the pictures turned out pretty good! I’m so glad I followed through with this idea, not only because I got practice with taking pictures with some new people, but also because I don’t photograph guys all that often; most of the time, the friends of mine that are willing to have photoshoots with me are girls. So this was some much needed practice with shooting with guys and experimenting with some more masculine poses.
Kemal brought along a few friends, which I think was great. It gave them all an opportunity to hang out, get a few pictures together, and support each other in a process that can be a little intimidating or embarrassing. If you’re shooting with new people, suggest bringing a friend or two along– it can make the shoot a lot more fun with the right people.
To start off, I shot each of the boys individually while the others looked at some pictures I pulled for inspiration. This gave them the opportunity to feel a little more comfortable in front of the camera without worrying about their friends, and allowed me to get to know each of them a little bit better. We shot in a stairwell on the roof of the parking garage, which is hands down my favorite place to take pictures at the parking lot, especially during golden hour. While the lighting wasn’t really golden, it did provide some nice natural light and a lowkey setting for our first pictures.
Next we moved outside, to a bit better lighting. It was late afternoon, so still bright out, but super cloudy and very much the wintery-vibe, which is one of my favorite lightings to shoot in. The guys took some inspiration by some of the example photos I had gathered, and had a lot of fun. They cheered each other on, and were great at getting one another to laugh for some really cute candid-like pictures.
The last place we shot was in another stairwell inside the actual parking lot structure. I had spotted it when I arrived, and thought the fluorescent lighting could look pretty cool. It gave some really interesting yellow, almost grunge, clearly parking lot vibes, and I really liked it.
After we finished up in the stairwell, the guys recognized some girls they knew from high school, so we went over to say hi. I got a couple group shots of them, and then offered to take some duo shots for the girls who were also on the roof to take pictures. They accepted, and I especially loved these photos I took of them:
I was really nervous going into this photoshoot, because I didn’t really know what to expect. But, I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was, and the guys and I got along great. I’m super happy with how the pictures turned out, and I’m so glad I met some new people to take photos with. Who knows– maybe they’ll be making an appearance again soon! 😉
EAC Photos 