You might remember about a month ago I worked up one of my first creative photoshoots in quite some time. A couple of friends and I pieced together an "April Showers Bring May Flowers" concept and although it didn't turn out exactly as I hoped I shared that creative collaborations were something I wanted to integrate more into my workflow. Shortly after this session I ended up winning a giveaway with a local photo studio, Bloom Haus, that granted me two hours of shoot time in a space with lighting equipment, backdrops and themed spots. This was a perfect opportunity to, once again, get out of my comfort zone and create something unique! I reached out to Bekah (one of my friends from my last creative session) and asked if she could use studio photos for her portfolio.
Now I haven't played in a studio with lighting equipment since college so I wasn't sure how this session would go down, but I was excited to see what happened! About a week before the session Abby, the owner of Bloom Haus Studio, invited me to swing by and check out the space. We had met for the first time at the Beauty Boost Flagstaff Krav Maga event a few weeks prior + were excited to bring our businesses together in such a unique way. Here's what Abby has to share about her space:
"Bloom Haus Studio officially opened on Valentines Day, February 14th, 2021! I decided to open Bloom Haus for a few different reasons. As a creative person with a passion for handmade things, I always came to the same road block when trying to turn my craft hobby into an Etsy or online shop: A nice well lit and appealing place to take photos. I dreamt of having a space that was dedicated to taking pictures and versatile enough for a range of photo ops. From there, the idea snowballed and after some research I realized studio rentals were an actual thing that existed as a business, just not in Flagstaff. My entrepreneurial side and creative side collided and BOOM, Bloom Haus Studio was born. I absolutely love getting to be part of other people's creative journey and offer a solution to the same roadblock I was having. One thing I'd love for more people to know about Bloom Haus is that it's not just for professional photographers! It definitely IS for photographers, but it is also a great place for any one wanting to take some content photos for their blog/social medias, photos of your handmade items or even filming a podcast interview! There are a lot of different ways the space can be utilized."
I was relieved when I stopped by to see that the lighting equipment was relatively simple to operate - once I saw that I felt a little more confident in how shoot day would go. A few days later Bekah and I met up at the studio. She had gathered a few outfits, props and pose ideas for us to make the most of our time there. It didn't take long for us to get into our groove and capture some of my favorite indoor portraits of all time.
I decided pretty early on in editing that I would let myself go with the flow based on wherever the process took me. Part of the fun in these collaborations + creative projects has been that there's less expectation on my end (and the subject's) to match the edit style or shoot feel to my usual work. These photos felt very retro to me, so that's where the edit style ended up leaning - and I loved it! They felt so magazine, album cover chic to me by the end of the editing I was dying to get back in the studio for more.
After this shoot, I felt wildly empowered. It was a wake up call for myself to see that I have the diversity to thrive not only in my usual outdoor locations but now in a studio environment as well! I feel like I can offer so much more to clients now.
We had two hours of studio time and we only utilized one or two areas of this studio, which was really eye opening for how well Abby used the space. There were at least 3 other sections of the studio we didn't even get to!Usually I try to move my clients around during the shoot to provide a ton of variety, but for this session I really loved our lighting and backdrop setup so we stayed in one spot and just played with different poses and outfits. It made me excited to go back and use the space again in the future.
Would you ever schedule an in-studio photoshoot? Let me know in the comments!
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