Shootin' with the B's

One of my many qualities that I hope is endearing but people probably just find annoying is my child-like (immature) excitement over the little things. Two of my friends who are photographers were in town last weekend for a photo shoot, and they agreed to let me observe. It was probably nothing to them but to me it was like Christmas morning; that is if Christmas morning took place in East Aurora's beautiful Roycroft Inn on a Sunday afternoon in March. The shoot was wedding/bridal themed, and photographers Joey and Allison were looking to create a series of images that showed their versatility - from straightforward wedding shots to fashion editorial shots, along with everything in between. My goal was to watch and learn, particularly when it comes to directing people, something I'm absolutely terrible at. The first thing I learned was that photo shoots are pretty much nothing like the ones you see in movies or on America's Next Top Model. There was no bass-heavy techno music blaring, and nobody was screaming "FIERCE!" or "Give it to me!" between shots. What there was instead was a great amount of patience and attention to detail, making sure each element was just right before proceding in order to get the best shot possible. That was a great lesson for me, as I tend to rush through the process so as not to inconvenience the model, but I learned that the model will gladly put up with a slower pace to get a better shot. That's not to say there's no room for impulsive creativity... but when the lighting and angles are right that frees you to focus on being creative. It was beautiful to see, and the shots Joey and Allison took that day are spectacular.