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In late August, Andy Smith joined his brother on a vacation to Andalucia, Spain. But instead of sitting back for a little r&r and enjoying the beautiful landscape, Andy immediately set out to work on a personal shoot that he had spent a few months preparing for back in London. Two models were cast as a couple spending the day together, enjoying a swim and having a picnic.
Personal work is the most important thing I do as a photographer. It’s important for my portfolio and my clients and I love shooting new work, be it for clients or for myself, so it scratches that itch as well. Putting a shoot together yourself from start to finish means you approach it differently to how you would with a brief in your hand. Shooting personal work develops the practical processes you take to client shoots as well as your vision, which is ultimately what the clients are interested in seeing. Shooting personal work is like a practice ground, and practice makes perfect.
While the results of this project are flawless and wonderful, the three-day shoot overcame quite a few challenges. For one, the models did not speak a word of English. Andy’s own assistant acted as a translator between Andy and the models that he was directing. The outside temperature also became a challenge as it was 40 degrees Celsius, (109 degrees Fahrenheit) making it a very hot and sweaty day.
Nobody moves quickly in that heat, including me, so taking that into account and being realistic about what’s achievable in the time you have is important to make sure you get what you need from the day. As with many things in photography it was about problem solving but if you put a group of people together who are passionate about achieving something, it’s always possible.
Andy’s shoot was not simply grabbing a couple of models and letting the rest fall into place. He spent hours prior to the trip organizing the shoot and the hard work certainly payed off.
The first step was location finding, which I did myself online, then I visited the chosen location. Visiting it is as much about making sure it will lend itself to the concept you have in mind, as it is finding a location that lends itself to what you need in a practical sense as well. Refreshments were important in the heat so I needed to know if we needed to transport all the food and drink there with us or if there was somewhere locally we could rest in the shade and get food and drink. Fortunately there was a cafe/restaurant, which we also used as a one of the locations. With the help of a local model agency I did an online casting and sourced a local stylist as well. Other things like travel, car hire, accommodation, etc I organized online. It wasn’t a huge production but there are still a lot of things to consider and organize. I’m pleased to say it all went to plan in the end.
Though this was intended to be a one-off project, the vast scope of the incredible location has Andy considering a continuation of the project.
There’s always something to learn. In this case it had a lot to do with the practicalities of producing a shoot and how best to manage everything. Shooting personal work on your own gives you an insight in to what a Producer’s role is, which is another experience you take to client shoots. It’s all great experience and you can’t have enough of that.
To view more of Andy’s work, visit his website.