julie
Julie was someone I photographed for a small PR agency. So small in fact that the shoot was actually in someones shed. A pretty big shed, but a shed all the day. Literally at the end of the garden and everything. Julie needed some headshots to promote a product of hers, so we shot it on white and gave her a few outfit changes.
Sometimes when shooting “normal” people you can need to really pull them through a shoot. They don’t move enough, they move too much. They don’t smile, they can’t stop smiling etc. It’s my job to help them, that’s half of why I get paid. However with Julie, she didn’t need any of that. She just had the movement, grace and smile of someone who’s done this before. So, I asked her. “Have you modeled before?” Is one of those lines photographers pull out to try and give they subject some confidence. Her answer? “Oh, Yes I have. I used to work with a lot of big photographers in the 70s/80s”.
She went on to regale me with stories about photoshoots long before I was even alive.
I felt young.
But she was lovely and I enjoyed getting to photograph someone who knew how to work with me, rather than against me. We actually got a lovely set of images, she reminds me of a Hollywood star from the 70’s in some of them. This was an important shoot for me for many reasons, lighting in a small box, shooting with a commercial use in mind, but learning that people can surprise you was the most important thing she taught me.
