Sometimes a photoshoot starts with a plan. Other times, it starts with seeing a photograph and thinking, I would really like to photograph her.
That is pretty much how this photoshoot with Amanda Crane came about.
I had seen a photograph of Amanda from a beach photoshoot and really liked what I saw. I reached out to her about the possibility of working together, and after talking about some ideas, we planned a session at Brazos Bend State Park.
Hopefully, this will be the first of many photoshoots we create together.
Three Dresses, Four Locations
For this session, we decided to take advantage of several different areas of Brazos Bend State Park. Amanda brought three different dresses, and we photographed in four locations — an open field, two different wooded trails, and the picnic area.
Each location gave us a different environment to work with.
The open field gave us space and a completely different feel from the wooded trails. The trails provided layers of trees, natural shade, and interesting backgrounds, while the picnic area gave us another setting and some different possibilities for posing.
Moving between locations also allowed each dress to have its own look rather than making the entire session feel like one continuous setting.
Finding the Light
One of the things I considered when planning the shoot was the position of the sun.
I specifically chose the time of day because I wanted the sun to be behind Amanda for most of the photoshoot. I really enjoy using the sun this way. Instead of having it directly light her face, I can use it to create highlights around her hair and separation from the background while using my strobe to control the light on her.
Of course, outdoor photography rarely goes exactly the way you plan it.
As we moved around the park, the sun sometimes moved more to the side of Amanda rather than directly behind her. That changed the way the light fell and gave us some variation from one location to the next.
For me, that's part of the fun of shooting outdoors — finding the light that's available and figuring out how to use it rather than trying to make every photograph look exactly the same.
Shaping the Light
I used two different light modifiers throughout the session.
For most of the photographs, I used my 18-inch beauty dish. It gives me the control I want over the light while still allowing me to create a look that works naturally with the outdoor environment.
For a few photographs, I switched to my 24-inch Apollo softbox to give the light a little more softness.
I enjoy bringing studio lighting outdoors because it gives me the best of both worlds. The natural environment provides the background, color, and atmosphere, while the strobe gives me control over the light on the subject.
Choosing the Lens for the Feeling
Most of the photographs from this session were created using my longer lens. I like the way a longer lens can compress the background and separate Amanda from the trees and surroundings.
But there was one photograph in the open field where I wanted something completely different.
Rather than compressing the scene, I switched to a wider lens and intentionally included much more of the field around Amanda.
I wasn't simply trying to show how large the field was. I wanted the photograph to have a feeling of space, confidence, and almost ownership — as if Amanda wasn't just standing in the field, but owned it.
There is something powerful about putting someone in a wide-open landscape and giving them enough room to dominate the frame. Amanda becomes the focal point, but the empty space around her adds to the feeling that this is her field.
That was the feeling I was trying to create with that photograph.
Hair by Billy Jones
Amanda's hair for the session was done by Billy Jones, who did a great job creating a look that worked with the different dresses and locations.
For these types of shoots, I enjoy putting all of the pieces together — the wardrobe, hair, location, sunlight, artificial light, posing, and lens choice. Each one contributes something different to the final photograph.
Looking Forward to the Next Shoot
I'm really happy with what we created during this first session with Amanda.
One of the things I enjoy most about photography is finding someone whose look and personality give me new creative ideas and then seeing where those ideas can take us.
This shoot gave us three dresses, four locations, changing sunlight, and several different approaches to lighting and composition. And after seeing the results, I can already think of plenty of ideas for what we could create next.
Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a lot more photographs with Amanda.