My theme for this portfolio was men exposing themselves as their true superhero. With this, I was trying to unveil that people may not always be who we think they are. Could be more then we think or could be less. For these men to show their true colours and not be afraid of what others think of them.
Here is my process and thoughts;
Pre Production
Scheduling the shoot with every model to get a time that worked for everyone was very difficult. There was always one person who was not available while the others were. Cause of this, there was two different shoot dates. For this shoot each model was required to wear a suit jacket, dress shirt, and a superhero t-shirt of their choice, with the option of wearing a tie. Most of the models did not obtain a t-shirt or a suit jacket. After asking each of them for their sizes, it was my turn to get what was required to accomplish the shoot. Of which looking in my boyfriend’s closet of four suits he obtains, I had to only purchase the t-shirts. I received a great deal on four of the shirts for only twenty dollars. Once I had everything required, we were ready to shoot.
Photo Shoot-Day One
It was a Sunday afternoon, all gathering at Durham College in anticipation for the shoot. Setting up the studio was done very easily and I had it all set up before the first model had arrived, which was 15 minutes from the time we all agreed to meet. The set up included the backdrop, lighting, the tables with the suit jackets and t-shirts on.
I had five models lined up for this day, with two hours of the studio booked for this shoot. I decided it would be easier to photograph the models as they arrived, it helped that all the models were friends with each other. So they helped come up with different poses along with making each other smile and laugh. Once I had photographed the first three models, I had decided to wait for the other model who was yet to show up since the fourth model was wearing a different suit jacket that he’d have to be on a different backdrop. After waiting for half an hour for the other model, I felt I should just photograph the fourth model already here, and just reset up the white backdrop for when the other arrives.
When I had finished with the last model whom had shown up, I decided I’d wait for the last one yet again. Fifteen minutes went by without hearing from him. Getting quite frustrated at this point. The model decided to finally call me and tell me he is unable to make the shoot. I felt that my time was wasted and I should’ve just went home instead of waiting for him. I could have spent more time with each model instead of waiting for someone who was not showing up.
Photo Shoot – Day Two
It was a Wednesday night, we met at the studio and this time I was not very impressed with how the studio was left. Lights were unplugged from their home light, garbage all over the studio, and backdrops still set up with lights still plugged in. I had to clean up the studio before I could even use it, I felt embarrassed in front of my model. The price you pay when you share a studio with hundreds of other students. On this shoot day, I only had to photograph one model which made everything much easier. The time in the studio went by quite quickly with lots of photographs to work with.
Post-Production
When reviewing my images, I realized there was not a single common pose that all the models had done. Made my selection process a little more difficult. Editing the photographs were probably quick easy with a little hiccups along the way. Having about a hundred images to edit and sort through for my portfolio, it was easy to choose. Each model has received their copy of their images on a CD within nine days of the shoot.
Overall
My overall thoughts of this portfolio are that a shoot is never easy to coordinate with multiple models. Studio time is very value-able and should not be wasted. Never waste time waiting for a model unless you are for sure, know they will come. It’s their loss if they do not attend, especially when you have other models lined up. I am very great-full for my very patient models in all the chaos and mess which happened in this photo session. Lastly, always book time into your schedule to clean the studio before you even start your shoot.
My final production of my Superhero Portfolio is available for viewing at:
Courtney Vilneff 