Too often, in the creative industry, we get caught in a routine. Routines can be great for productivity, like waking up everyday and making your bed. And though they are good in some aspects, they can stifle growth. I had noticed myself falling into a routine. Same poses, same prompts, even cracking the same jokes. Don't get me wrong, the photos turned out beautiful and both my client and I were thrilled with the results, but I lacked a sense of excitement and anticipation. I wasn't rushing home to import all my photos to see if my shots turned out the way I had envisioned. And I missed that. Oddly enough, I missed trying something new and feeling like a failure after the shoot, only to be amazed and so proud of my images once I got them on my desktop. I needed a change in pace. I happened to be at my mom's house for dinner with my family when the urge to plan a shoot hit me. I turned to my sister and asked if she was up for a sunrise shoot. "What for?" she replied. "A shoot just for me." I started formulating my plan and the parameters I wanted to take, and thus, this challenge was born!

1. Embrace the light

     I love open shade and backlit images. It's part of my style and how I shoot as an artist. But I wanted to challenge myself. By grabbing my sister and heading to a weed patch at dawn I was able to experiment and try new things without risking my clients' expectations. I was free to discover. I knew that the location I picked would be west facing - which would result in golden morning light pouring all over my subject. From there I was able to let the light be my guide. 

2. Location Location Location

I am such a sucker for a stunning location. I mean, who isn't? Especially when you live in Utah and are surrounded by stunning views! But I could see myself getting caught up in trying to photograph all the pretty things outside that I wasn't focusing as much on my clients and the emotions I wanted to convey. (It actually took me reading a friend's post [Hey Emily!] to realize what I had been doing.) Which is where this weed patch comes into play. I told myself to pick one location and do my entire shoot there. 

3. Posing

Since I had forced myself to choose a location with little to no shade, on a very small lot, posing was going to have to take the wheel. Posing can be hard. Especially when you are doing portraits and your model has no one else to feed off of. I wanted these shots to tell a story, and not just be "pretty girl in a dress stands in some tall grass." I worked hard on my posing. My directing became a narrative and suddenly the camera wasn't there. We were just two sisters, hanging out, talking to each other. Posing should be like a conversation. Fluid and natural. What I found to be most helpful was to get my sister in the initial pose that I wanted, and then just start talking and laughing. Her movements were organic and not planned with the exception of a prompt here and there. By forcing myself to stay in one spot, our posing narrative had to take over in order to prevent repetition.