I’ve never met someone and then shot so quickly ever before. Ridiculous!
It happened in an instant, a quick snap of the fingers. I saw her profile, swiped, sent a message, and bam, got one in return. I magically had a day open, which almost never happens, so we set the time and place and prepared! Now, here’s the fun part. Remember the last blog? With Kaila in the snowstorm? This shoot took place during that same snow storm the following day. Yeah, it snowed for two days straight, longer than two days straight, actually. Ridiculous.
These snow photos are seriously too good, I’m gonna keep them coming for a second. I love the falling snow!!
It was absurdly cold. We were shooting in temperatures of 8 degrees Fahrenheit but windchill (and boy, was it blowing hard), made it feel like -2. I don’t know what it is with me only shooting on the coldest days in the winter but it happens. And I’d like to think it pays off in the end! These snowy photos are some of my favorites.
I feel this happening more and more on my recent shoots in 2019, but I am getting better at shooting more meaningful portraits and finding more and more shots that blow me away composition wise. I decided to make a folder on my laptop called “Best of 2019”. I want this folder mainly so I have a record of what shots I thought were the best on a particular shoot; a shot that blew me away when I edited it. I found two of those on this shoot, and for whatever reason, I couldn’t believe I got them. So, as of this posting, there are four photos in that little folder. Here’s one of them.
I’m not sure what it is about the photo (pictured above, left) but I love it. Perhaps it’s because both her arms are bleeding off the frame, the expression on her face, the way her hair looks, and the color composition. I personally can find zero wrong with the photo. I wouldn’t have wanted to take it any differently. It’s just a solid photo.
The other “Best” photo (pictured above, right) tells a different story in a different location. She’s completely within the frame, but something about the unevenness of the table lines, the clean-woven wicker chair, and the snowy backdrop among creamy colored pillars gets me excited. And then of course, there’s Emily, a soft, inviting expression on her face, silver hair grazing her face in the breeze, lips perfectly parted and hat resting on her head as her hand gently touches her chin, her elbow creating the perfect anchor point. It’s just solid.
I should mention this: we weren’t alone, the two of us. Emily brought her friend Jess along for the ride, but since there were two people to shoot, I ended up editing an insane amount of photos, too much to fit into one blog. I know, I keep splitting them up, I’m so sorry. I’ll try not to in the future, but no promises, y’all. Regardless, one thing Emily did stuck out to me. She directed Jess in a very certain way and in a way that I’d never seen before. Generally I tell whoever I shoot with to be comfortable and relaxed, moving only with natural, every-day movements. Emily told Jess to relax her lips. Let gravity decide. I’m going to remember that one for sure.
Yeah, yeah, I didn’t show the pics, but don’t worry, I’ll show ya next time. I need something to make you keep coming back! Since it was so cold and I was only shooting one person at a time, one of them would sit in the warm car while the other braved the cold with me. Then we swapped, drove and found a spot, and repeated that a couple times. It was seriously getting that cold and we were that desperate to keep as warm as possible. But hey, improvise, adapt, and overcome. Win. Battles!
Gosh, and these ones were just too good, I can’t get over them.
She and I are a good team. We both wanted to shoot again but unfortunately my schedule didn’t allow it. Please don’t go back to New York City!! Emily told me to fail my last semester so I would have to stay longer and therefore I would be in Buffalo more. I told her absolutely not, I am getting out of here! But hey, maybe that means I can take a trip to NYC or Buffalo and shoot again! Who knows. We’ll make it work, Em!
The snow wavered for a little bit, barely falling for a hot second or two but it picked back up after I pointed out a snowy street I wanted to shoot on. It was abysmally cold but I learned that I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t resist a shot. Emily will do it all just to get a shot and that’s the kind of person I always want to shoot with. I don’t find a lot of people my age with the same personal motivation as I do. Nevertheless, we got out there twice more and captured some winter magic.
Like, some real winter magic.
One of the reasons we stopped on the side of this road was because of a house. We both absolutely loved it. The color, the stone, the majestic nature of the house. We just wanted to pretend we lived there for a few precious seconds. It seriously was a beautiful house on a beautiful street. If you’re reading this and you’re the owner of the house, thank you, it’s absolutely beautiful. If you’re a real estate agent and you’re reading this, please sell us this house. Preferably for cheap.
Just a few more.
And more.
And who knew Adidas track pants looked this good.
Parting shot:
Next blog: Jess.
Justin Fague 