Growing Together
At the beginning of this year, I set myself a simple goal: spend less time searching for new subjects and more time exploring the potential of the relationships I’d already built.
It doesn’t seem like a dramatic change on the surface. The process of planning a shoot is much the same whether you’ve known someone for years or you’re meeting for the first time. But the energy that goes into it is somewhat different.
When you’re working with someone new, there’s an understandable desire to make a good first impression. You’re learning what they want, how they communicate, what makes them feel comfortable, and how they respond to the camera. There’s a lot of discovery packed into the planning and the shoot itself.
With returning collaborators, that discovery has been done, leaving room to ask different questions. What haven’t we tried yet? What side of your personality hasn’t found its way into a photograph? How have you changed since our last shoot? Are you wanting to explore something different now that you’ve worked with me once before? What if we mix up the aesthetic, the location, or the storytelling elements? The conversation begins with possibility and deeper discovery.
Another interesting but complicated element of onboarding new collaborators that I’ve learned: a person’s desires and goals for a shoot are almost impossible to predict.
I’ve stopped assuming I know what someone will be interested in based on their Instagram profile, professional background, or even any work they may have done before. Some of the boldest ideas this year haven’t come from professional models or performers at all. They’ve come from regular people who were simply excited to experiment and explore a different side of themselves.
That realization has changed the way I approach every shoot.
The planning process has become less about presenting a finished vision and more about creating a springboard to different end goals that we can choose together. Mood boards are a starting point, not a blueprint. Learning about a subject’s personality and journey can guide the story of the session in ways they didn’t anticipate. Sometimes, the concept we land on wasn’t the one we started with. As a result, the photos feel more immediate and organic, but more importantly, it’s a personal portrait that we’ve painted together .
This year I’ve made a conscious effort to broaden the kinds of stories I’m telling. I’ve worked with more mature women than ever before, explored new locations that wouldn’t have appealed to me a few years ago, and experimented with aesthetics that push beyond the natural-light style many readers associate with my work. Not every experiment becomes a new direction, but every one teaches me something worth carrying into the next session.
Looking back over the last several months of Stay Awhile, I can see a common thread running through these stories. It’s easy to describe it as boldness, because that’s often what the finished photographs communicate. But I think the real story is something quieter.
It’s creating a space where it’s safe to say yes. Yes to an unfamiliar idea. Yes to trying something outside your comfort zone. Yes to seeing yourself a sexual, powerful, or accomplished person. Yes to trusting another person with a creative vision, while leaving enough room to shape it together.
The photos aren’t just the end goal. They’re evidence of a successful, unique experience. And no matter how many times I work with the same collaborators, each shoot is special and personal in its own way.
