One of the life lessons my father instilled in me was: Simple is best.
This is relevant in so many ways, including photography. I had a couple years where I picked up trendy props and backdrops for indoor shoots. What I found was my most favorite shoots were rarely when things were complicated with over-thought details. My favorite shoots were usually when the location was simple, props were few, and my time together with my subject(s) was easy-going and free-flowing.
Take for example my shoot this week of my Mia who just turned 12. (I do a photoshoot of each of my monkeys around their birthdays.)
We didn’t have anything particular in mind, other than Mia requested that her shoot be short. (*ehem* I will try not to take that personally. smh) We picked out her outfit just before we left, I told her to brush her hair, I made sure there was still battery life in my camera, and we headed out.
The area I had in mind for the shoot was under construction, so I kept driving. After a bit of driving aimlessly purposefully, we stopped at a red light near a strip mall (classy, I know) where there was a parking lot and an unkempt hillside behind a row of bushes, which appeared to be planted to keep people out. So obviously, I saw that as an invitation to climb over. 😉
Voila, my mini shoot of my sweet Mia!
THE TAKEAWAY: Sure, you should plan for your shoot, but you don’t need to overthink it. Sometimes, my dad is right… simple is best! ❤️
