Liv N’ Oats

Liv N’ Oats

June 2022. Sony A7. Godox AD400 Pro. Lightroom, Darktable, Photoshop.

Working with friends has it’s benefits and disadvantages, but I’d say it’s ultimately one of the best environments to operate within. Olivia and Oats, two of my first real friends I had made in Florida and they mean a lot to me – so I went into this shoot with a bit of nervousness. I wanted to make sure there was no pressure to model, and keep the atmosphere of the shoot as casual as possible.

Technical limitations of the shoot meant I kind of had to lean into a certain aesthetic quality. Working with a single monolight with just a honeycomb/barndoors is not my typical go-to when shooting portraiture. I had my friend and assistant Alyssa hold the light often to alleviate the constraint of having it on the stand.

The dynamic between the two was just perfect. We didn’t end up getting much content of them posed together, but every shot we did have with them was oozing with good vibes and friendship.

It would have been nice to be in a traditional studio space with some additional lights and modifiers, but I feel like the relaxed nature of shooting in an apartment was beneficial to the atmosphere I was going for in the shoot. Liv and Oats were occasionally asking how to pose, but I would honestly dismiss it most of the time. I don’t find it necessary to direct any aspect of the modelling, I believe you get natural and better representation of people once they’ve relaxed into the situation.

Liv, Oats, and Myself. Photographed by Alyssa.

Being a participant within a photo shoot further pushes the casual and natural atmosphere. I don’t want to perpetuate some aspect of power between model and photographer; I’m trying to break that dynamic.

There is inherent violence within the terminology and practice of photography. Photographers are shooting people, taking an image. The militant language and process of photography is perhaps one of my greatest discomforts with the medium, but I continue to practice despite (and in spite of) this concern. My practice is by no means perfect, but I think that shoots like these have helped evolve the way I go about image-making.

liv n’ oats