Sometimes the simplest idea makes for one of the most entertaining shoots.
For this session, I wanted to build everything around one strong visual element, red.
A red backdrop, red floor and a simple studio lighting setup gave us a consistent starting point, but what made the evening really interesting was how differently each model approached it.
Elaine
Elaine was first up for the evening and brought her husband along to watch the shoot and capture some behind-the-scenes video.
She immediately set the tone for the night with some strong posing and a dramatic look against the red background. Having someone filming a little BTS while we worked was also a fun addition and gave the whole thing a bit of a live-set feeling.
Lina
Lina came prepared with a number of completely different outfits.
One of my favourites was her belly dancing look, which worked beautifully against the red background, especially with the flowers we had in the studio.
She also brought some more elegant, high-society-inspired outfits, which gave us a chance to change the mood completely without changing the set.
That’s one of the things I enjoy most about studio photography. Sometimes the model, styling and posing can completely transform the image even when everything else stays exactly the same.
Madison
Madison arrived with her daughter and two fantastic red outfits.
A red dress against a red backdrop could easily disappear visually, but instead it created this really bold, almost monochromatic look that I loved.
We also managed to sneak in a few photos with her daughter, which added a really sweet personal element to the session.
Rina
Rina brought another dramatic change of direction.
We started with an elegant black dress that gave us a more glamorous, high-society feel.
Then things got considerably more industrial. 😂
For her second look, I spotted a motorcycle helmet I happened to have sitting around the studio and thought it might be fun to pair it with her outfit.
It worked.
The black clothing, boots and helmet against the red background gave us a completely different feel from anything else we shot that evening.
Sometimes the best props are simply whatever happens to be sitting nearby.
Mikayla
Mikayla finished the evening with a couple of beautiful looks that again brought something completely different to the set.
By this point we had photographed glamour, fashion, dance-inspired styling, industrial looks and some more classic portraiture, all without ever changing the backdrop.
And that was really the fun of this shoot.
One red set.
Five models.
Five completely different interpretations.
A huge thank you to Elaine, Lina, Madison, Rina and Mikayla for coming out and making the shoot such a fun one.
I definitely think the Red Shoot experiment was a success. ❤️📸
