I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to write a blog post. EVER! My goodness, what an incredible experience I had experimenting with my first Zoom portrait sessions a few weeks ago.
Right now I’m trying pretty much anything and everything to get my creative kicks. My husband is still going to work so I have no isolation buddy, and there’s only so many self-portraits a person can take! Since lockdown started, I’ve done self-portraits, a rooftop shoot, wedding portraits with my husband, a self-isolated styled shoot, and literally everything else I could think of! So now this was naturally the next thing to do.
Rose is an incredible fashion stylist and model so always has her finger on the pulse with what’s happening and what’s cool on the scene. I WhatsApped her telling her I was toying with idea of doing this and she was just as excited as I was to give it a go!
Then Thursday came around and I really wanted to try this idea with a couple as well. So I messaged one of my brides-to-be Kathryn to ask if her and her fiancé, JJ would be interested in joining me from Dubai for a Zoom photo session later that day. AND THEY SAID YES!
I’ve seen other photographers do this on the internet and I was so intrigued by it, but I had so many questions: how do you do it? Do you screen shot? Are you using your camera? What lens? What settings? Are you using Zoom? Are you using Facetime? (I have since learnt that Facetime is the way to do these sessions!)
But with very little information out there, I decided to just go for it, see what worked and freestyle it in my own way.
So I scheduled the Zoom sessions and set up my laptop and my camera and just went for it. I was a couple of minutes in with Kathryn and JJ and something suddenly happened inside me…I felt like I was back! I had to stop to compose myself BECAUSE I GOT SO EMOTIONAL!!!
Dramatic, I know, but you must understand, I love my job and I’ve missed it so much! Taking photographs of other humans has always been my calling and not being able to do it for weeks and weeks has been so weird for me. So to finally be photographing people again, giving direction, capturing moments and emotion- even if it was just through a screen- was wonderful beyond words.
And the results are seriously cool.
If you told me a few months ago I’d be doing a photoshoot via Zoom, I wouldn’t have believed you! I mean, why?! The quality will be awful, the grain, the lag…but you know what? It’s all part of its charm! There are some cool things that happen, you get movement blur, screen blur, it’s grainy and the angles are limited…but there is something quite magical about it, and it so perfectly captures this weird, tragic, unforgettable time we’re all experiencing together.
What I love most about photography is its ability to transport us back to the very moment a shot was taken. I love looking through old photo albums and getting a feel for what life was like in that moment, the emotions, the joy, the sadness, the atmosphere. Right here and right now is the era of Zoom, House Party and Facetime. With our every connection experienced through a screen, it’s become part of our new way of life in lockdown. So how better to capture this unique time in our lives than by photographing through a screen?
If you want to capture this little part of history with a Zoom shoot, please get in touch. It’s strange, it’s fun, it’s completely different to any shoot you’ll have done before or ever will again, and I promise you, you’ll love it!
