Some sessions take half an hour to warm up. This one did not. I have known Darcy for a while through Snapdragon Cabaret, so we were not starting from scratch, and by the time she had her first outfit on she was already working. That head start changes what comes out of a studio day. Instead of spending the first block of time helping someone settle, we could get straight into the actual pictures.
What the session was for
This was a test session rather than a commissioned job. No client brief, no deadline, no list of shots that had to be delivered by Friday. Sessions like this are how I try things out, and how a model or performer builds a set of images they can actually use. Both of us wanted images from it, and Darcy was happy for them to be shared, which is not something I ever assume. I ask every time.
Hans came along as Darcy’s chaperone and stayed for the session. I want to say thank you to him for that, because it made the day easier for everyone. More on chaperones further down, because it is worth explaining properly.
Four looks across the session
We worked through four changes, and each one had its own set and its own lighting.
The first was a bronze brocade corset with high waisted green trousers, shot against a pale grey background with soft, even light coming from the front. That set is deliberately clean. There is nowhere to hide in it, and it suits someone who is comfortable standing still and holding a look.
The second was a red bodycon dress, and we shot it two ways. First against a dark background with a single main light and plenty of falloff, so the shape of the dress and the line of her hair do most of the work. Then we moved to a red backdrop and lit that separately, which puts the red of the dress against the red of the wall and turns the whole frame into one colour with the skin tones carrying the contrast. It is a simple idea and it only works if the two reds are far enough apart. They were.
The third look was a green off the shoulder top with star patched jeans. Warmer, more relaxed, closer to a lifestyle portrait than the first two. Her tattoos across the collarbone sit right in the frame in that one, and I lit it so they read clearly rather than getting lost in shadow.
The fourth was a white ruffled corset with the same jeans and her hair up in pigtails. That one is the most playful of the set, and it is where the expressions loosened up the most.
Darcy did her own hair and makeup for all four looks, and it held up across the whole session. That is worth saying, because it is preparation, and preparation is most of what separates a session that produces a handful of usable frames from one that produces a full set. Her makeup was clean enough to work under a hard light on the grey set and strong enough to hold up against a red background, which is not an easy thing to get right in one sitting.
Body confidence, and why it shows in the pictures
I will be honest about this because it matters more than any lighting decision I made on the day. Darcy has real body confidence, and it comes through in every frame. She is not holding herself in, not angling away from the camera, not asking me to shoot from higher up. She stands square to the lens and she owns it.
That is not a small thing. A lot of people arrive at a portrait session already braced for it. They have a list in their head of what they do not like about how they look, and they spend the first part of the session managing that list rather than being photographed. You can see it in the shoulders and you can see it in the eyes. Working with someone who is not carrying any of that means I can spend my time on light and expression instead of reassurance.
It also gives me more to work with. Darcy could go from a still, direct look on the grey set to something much more animated on the last look, and the range across those four sets is wider than I would normally get in a single session.
Getting people comfortable in front of the camera
My job is not just to press the shutter. Most of it is making sure the person in front of the camera is relaxed enough to look like themselves. I talk through what I am doing, I show people what I am seeing, and I keep the pace steady rather than rushing.
Knowing Darcy beforehand meant a lot of that was already sorted. We did not need to build trust from nothing, because it was there before she arrived. If you are booking a session with a photographer you have never met, that trust has to be built on the day, and a good photographer will make time for it. If someone puts you straight in front of a light and starts firing without a word, that is worth noticing.
Chaperones, contact, and how I run a shoot
I encourage every model to bring a chaperone. A friend, a partner, a parent, anyone they trust. The offer is made before the shoot every single time, whether the person takes it up or not. Darcy brought Hans, and having him there was no inconvenience at all. It never is.
There is no physical contact between me and any model during a session. If a pose needs adjusting, I describe it, or I stand up and demonstrate it myself from where I am. I do not reach over and move somebody. There is no reason to.
If a photographer refuses to allow a chaperone, or talks you out of bringing one, treat that as a serious warning. There is no legitimate professional reason to say no. A studio is not so small that one extra person breaks it, and nothing about the work requires privacy. Your safety is not something you should have to negotiate for, and you should not have to ask twice.
What a studio portrait session involves
If you have never done one, a studio session is more straightforward than it looks. You bring the clothes you want to be photographed in, we talk through what you are hoping to get out of it, and we work through the looks one at a time. Backgrounds and lighting change between them. There is time to stop, look at the back of the camera, and change direction if something is not working.
You do not need experience in front of a camera and you do not need to arrive knowing how to pose. That is my end of the job. What helps is turning up with a rough idea of what the images are for, whether that is a portfolio, a profile, a set of prints, or just something for yourself. Details of what I offer and what it costs are on my portrait photography packages page.
Studio portraits in Suffolk
My studio is at Base Business Park in Rendlesham, on the former RAF Bentwaters site near Woodbridge. There is parking outside and space to change and set up. I work with people from across Suffolk, and the studio is an easy run from Ipswich, Woodbridge, Framlingham, Saxmundham and the coast, with clients coming from Norfolk and Essex as well.
I like photographing people. Studio sessions are my favourite part of the job, and days like this one are the reason why.