The studio business is currently in a period of change. Since Cass has left us, I am now training Bhav - our newbie. Here she is - WAVE BHAV!
(Sorry Bhav!)
I have been used to managing the business over the last couple of years, with Cass in solidly at weekends shooting, and I have been taking care of all the editing and admin side of things.
On Saturday just passed, I had 7 sessions - in a row. It's been a good few years since I photographed so many portrait sessions back to back and if I am completely honest with you, I was dreading it a tad. I wasn't dreading meeting the new families/pets and the beautiful chaos that would ensue, but I was more worried about the workload in the fact that I hadn't crammed so many sessions into one day in a long, long time.
Turns out, I loved every minute of it.
I have really enjoyed being back amongst it over the last few weeks and I think it's safe to say, I have fallen in love with studio photography all over again. As I have been concentrating on post production of the short film and as the wedding side of the business seems to be taking more and more of my time, I had left the studio side of the business to tick over recently without very much intervention at all. This was not an approach adopted and chosen, but more so one that just seemed to happen. I want to be sure Bhav is ready for when she starts taking on the sessions on her own, and I like to think it's good for her to see me work - as ultimately she will be shooting more like me the more she sees of my work! That's the theory anyway.
Every photographer is different and has their own unique style, but I have a passion for two-d photography in that I do want us to be a little bit different.
There are so many reasons why I love being let loose in that big white room with my camera, still – after all these years.
I love it when the sessions finish up and the kids (And even sometimes the dads...YES the dads...) don't want to leave because they're having so much fun.
I love it when pets go nuts and run around uncontrollably. At first their owners are a bit worried, but then they see how much I am enjoying myself and they relax. Every crazy dog will eventually get tired anyway! I had three lovely dogs in this week end. I got covered in hair and slobber, and loved every minute of it!
I love meeting a brand new life. There's something truly amazing about capturing these tiny humans in their early days! So many years, and so much life ahead of them. I get excited for them, and also the parents. This little guy was only 8 days old!
I love it when a family of six generations comes in to document this amazing span of life, blood and family. It is indeed an honour to get a glimpse into such an amazing thing.
My job is epic and I am blessed to be doing it. I get to meet so many different people from all walks of life. I think every time you meet someone, a little bit of them stays with you. A bit of their knowledge, a little bit of their story stays there and helps you too to grow as a person in some kind of crazy way. It sounds a bit like a Jerry Springer final note, but its so true. I have only begun to realise that the job we do here is actually really important.
With the digital age we find ourself securely in, in a thousand years all of our descendants will be able to access our digital lives in the form of images and video, and will be able to see exactly how we were, what we thought about, what we look like, what we did in our lives.
DEEP!
;)
- Dan
