Behind the Scenes

Santana = The behind the scenes production working with Santana was no easy task. The items I utilized to receive the pictures seen in the image includes a red comforter, a led light, and his toys (motorcycle, learning desk, sports balls, etc.) As I sat Santana on his stool, his mother remained on the sidelines to keep him from drifting too far into his own world. His age did not benefit me with his production being that he was distracted by the many items around him rather than me taking a picture of him. I assured myself to wear comfortable clothing during this process because I knew I had to remain flexible to keep up with his activity. A key item that I learned would assist my production process with Santana was snacks. A bowl of dry cereal was not only a slight prop that helped with the cover page image but calmed him down and made him feel comfortable while shooting. I have learned that working with a two year old for my attempt at non- action pictures is no easy task. I honestly felt quite discouraged because of how much movement he was doing during the shoot and I could barely keep him still; I thought that would impact the quality of the image and if I would receive any useable images in general. Thankfully, with his mother around she was able to keep him under control long enough for me to snap pictures that could be utilized in the magazine.

Destiny = Destiny is a lot older and easier to direct and position so that made the process more effective. Although I did not have to take as many shots of her as Santana, to obtain those images were quite difficult to do being that we had to exercise social distancing practices due to the current pandemic. However, we made it work by having multiple FaceTime calls and discussing exactly how the images should come out. Taking her images were a quick and easy process and everything come out according to plan. I have learned that it is better to work with older individuals if they are able to fit into your ideas , which she was, her availability was actually better than the other model which is surprising but true. I enjoyed working with her also because of how communicative she was and how expressive she was with her story which allowed me to have the feature story I currently have.