Halloween is my favorite time of the year, so naturally it is also my favorite time to do photoshoots. As soon as September hit, I was already brainstorming ideas for shoots. Then the costume stores started to open and the gears started to fully turn! In the last week I have done three test sessions, that I am extremely happy with!
For the first photo set, my daughter and I had the creepy clown costume and smoke grenades. Past those two things we had no ideas for locations or for the template. So we did what I always do, just go out and wander around. Get creative and see what we can walk away with.
It is rare when outdoor shoots go exactly as planned, for the second shoot the whole idea that I had was completely flawed. There is a storm drain just off of a well used trail. A entry point for it is a cement room about 12 feet deep, 10 feet long and 6 feet wide. The metal grate covering it has a corner that has literally been pried up (bent rebar). The plan was to climb down into the room and climb back up the ladder while wearing a dark clown mask. The camera I thought it was a great idea, until not being able to fit through the opened corner. I quickly devised an alternative, I would stand on top of the grate holding a prop sledge hammer. Tying a smoke grenade to rope and anchoring it on the grate, pulling its fuse and dropping it 3/4 down into the room. I set up, pulled the fuse of the smoke grenade and waited to hit my remote shutter. I waited and waited, only to find out the smoke had filled the room but wasn’t “wafting out” like I had envisioned. Thankfully there was a very old rusted fence and an abandoned homeless camp close by!
The third set was just me falling in love with a mask and immediately heading to the first idea that popped in my head. Tall grass during golden hour (The best time for naturally lit photography).
