Organizing and running a photo shoot on your own dime, can be a pretty costly and nerve-racking exercise, especially when building your portfolio. Well, it certainly was for me. When reaching out to hair/makeup artists, stylists, studios and models, it’s not easy to get everyone on the same page and date.  Hair/Makeup are good on day X but the model is booked and can only shoot on day Y. Trying to align the diaries of several very busy professionals and facilities can be an intense match making process.

So eventually, after much perseverance, you get everyone booked for the shoot - the call sheet is sent out, everyone knows the times they need to show up and they’ve got details of the location. Ideas are then circulating on the style of the shoot, hair/makeup would love to try this new crazy makeup hair thing, stylist wants a specific look/feel, etc., but we know all the organization is set, so we’ll make it work.

The day before shoot, I make double-sure to run through my checklist of gear, packing everything including the camera, lenses, charged batteries, laptop and more.

However, right before bed, the anxiety and doubt kicks in.  What if it snows? That’s happened before. What if the stylist gets sick? What if the studio mistakenly double booked? That’s happened before as well. It leads me to ask, what am I doing? I don’t want to do this.  That fear seeps in at every chance it gets, trying to talk me out of it! I realize I need to do something to take my mind off the shoot, not letting these nerves get the better of me at the last hour. Better watch a movie or meditate.

| Day of the Shoot |

I made sure to wake up super early, because I tend to sleep in at times.  I grab some breakfast, pack the car with my gear and make my way to the studio in Brooklyn, NY.  Once I arrive, I begin prepping, unpacking and setting up. The backdrop goes up, the lights and modifiers are setup, my laptop’s on and ready for tethering. I make sure the camera is ready with my 85; I place the mood board for everyone to see. I take some test shots: I’m dialed in and ready to go.

The hair stylist shows up on time at 9am and it begins.  “Hi, how are you, find the place OK?”  We go over the mood board for the style of hair for the model.

The makeup artist soon follows at 9:15. I greet them and go over the type of makeup we’re looking for.

The Stylist shows up 20 minutes later at 9:35 with a bunch of suit cases…. oh yes, this is happening!! As she starts hanging out the clothes and jewelry, a rush of excitement comes over me… the same feeling I get from all of my shoots, because I love this!

Everything is set. Now all we need is the model. She’s due at 10am, its 5 past 10. OK, she’s a few minutes late, no big deal. 10:20 rolls around and there is no model here. I call and text her to see where she is, wondering if maybe she’s stuck in traffic, she’s having trouble finding the place… no answer. My team are now waiting, walking around the studio, checking the props busying themselves. I opt to play music to ease the awkwardness of just standing there with nothing more for anyone to do. I have my assistant (younger brother, he’s the best!) to do a coffee run, trying to make the most of this dead time.  At 10:45, I’m calling, texting, calling and texting again. I’m leaving voicemails in case she’s not got signal temporarily. I even email asking where she is, just to have all communication bases covered… still no response.

It hits 11 ‘clock, she’s officially 1 hour late and I start to develop a small pit in my stomach that this shoot might not be happening.

Makeup ask, “is she running late?”.  Hair asks the same. Stylist is sitting there on her phone, also waiting and wondering what’s going on.  This is not a good feeling.

At 11:30, I walk outside, take a deep breath and resign myself to the fact that this shoot will not happen.  It’s a major kick to the gut for me. I now have to go back inside and tell the team that this shoot is not going ahead! I am so embarrassed; I gather my thoughts, head back inside and announce to the team that the shoot is canceled due to a no show from our lovely model.

They understood but also bummed, as they were all excited to get to work and make this shoot great. We had great ideas from everyone, we had a great style of looks and hair/makeup was going to look amazing! My team came to do a job, as did I; they were all paid their going rates for that day. I’m not the type to penalize them, just because the model didn’t show up. I have a responsibility to be professional and respect their time, even if certain people do not feel the same.

I made one last ditch effort and reached out to someone from the agency and low and behold we were able to get someone last minute.

Adjustments were made, hair/makeup ideas would not work on the new model, and stylist had to also make adjustments due to the makeup, hair and complexion of the model.

It’s tough as it is to put together a good team to work with, reaching out to the model, booking the studio, getting everyone on the same page for dates/times and coordinating the shoot. I guess it’s a new worry to have and add to the list for next time.  Learned some valuable lessons, things to do differently next if something like this does happen.

Yes, this sounded like a total failure, but this did not end all bad, yes the initial shoot did not happen, shockingly we were able to find another model in such a short amount of time.  It was almost like having them on standby!  I am grateful for model agencies that are quick to help and right the wrong for a no-show.  A few things had to change for the shoot, makeup/hair, but the style and look were similar with a few adjustments.  Overall, it was an amazing and full of anxiety day…let us hope this is the last type of shoot!

Onto the next shoot!

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