Concepts

People look to me to come up with great concepts for their photos. Sometimes, I am very lucky and somebody comes to me with some great concepts that challenge me as an artist. This week, Chelsea did just that.

First, she wanted to do a young american rocker shot with a flag lit by christmas lights. Well, I'm a studio girl. I love my strobes. So I had to figure out how to make the strobe a part of this shot. And I did. It took one really low strobe and a incredibly slow shutter speed to make it work. Oh, and, not to mention, a very still model. The strobe had a softbox on it and I used the air vent to throw some light on the flag. Usually the light that comes out of those vents annoys me to no end, but this time it was useful. This shot is much darker than my usual style and I think that's why it appeals to me.

Second, she wanted to do an addiction shot. The makeup and hair was done by Lauren. All inspired by her; I gave her no direction. Chelsea had the outfit and addiction idea. She also had the idea to shoot in the broken mirror that she saw sitting in my studio (see, junk lying around everywhere has a purpose). So really, you could say all I did was light the shot and click the button. Since I usually come up with the concepts, it almost feels like I did nothing to deserve any credit for this shot. But I guess owning a camera, some lights and some junk does have its benefits.

It's hard to find somebody who brings you ideas that you can sink your teeth into. Often styles don't mesh and personalities/egos get in the way, but I have lucked out with Chelsea. She presents me with strong ideas and doesn't mind when I alter them to add my style to them. She takes a chance on me each time, and I like the way it works out in the end.