About a month ago, I met up with several couples in Greenwich Village to test out a new approach to photo sessions-- I wanted to create Romantic Movie-Inspired Photo Sessions.
When I met each couple, I immediately told them not to view me as a photographer, but to view me more as a director. I told them to be themselves, but to also embrace the perspective that they are characters in a movie.
And this direction, changed the entire feel of the photos.
Why is it important for you to feel as if you are a character in a movie?
Characters in (most) movies don’t know they’re in movies. They don’t know there’s a camera— they are blissfully unaware of the camera. Their scenes move forward without stops or temporary poses. Their scenes are in the moment. They don't rush through scenes, they embrace them as they are because to the character the scene is their reality. When I can get a couple to really embrace this idea, the magic really flows.
Something I witness in photo sessions all the time is what I call a "Pose and Part", where a couple focuses on achieving a certain look or pose. And then, once they've hit the pose, they drop it, part (or detach) from one another, and detach from the emotion between them. A cinematic approach to photo sessions, does not seek to achieve poses. It's more about continuous flow and focusing on the romance. The goal is for my couples to stay connected with one another-- not the camera.
In these Cinematic photo sessions you'll notice I'm giving couples permission to not care about the camera, I'm giving them opportunities to enjoy, talk with, and play with one another. I'm inviting them to collaborate creatively to the extent they feel comfortable getting creative. I'm wanting them to walk away from their session, feeling as if they just made a fun memory together and that they're glad the camera happened to be there to photograph them in it.
When you book your own cinematic session, you'll find there is no "right" way to be in the moment. I'll work with you- giving prompts, allowing you to interpret those prompts in anyway you would naturally. There’s no right or wrong and if we need to try something again in a different way, we will. In the movies, they approach scenes with several "takes", and that's totally fine to do too. If we need to repeat things with better direction, we will. But allowing you to not feel as if there is a "right" way to pose, is so important to getting real reactions and interactions.
Why Cinema?
I grew up watching music videos on CMT and always thought it would be fun to direct one. I loved the powerful stories they were able to tell within 2-3 minutes. My favorite videos were the ones with a love story. And as I've gotten older, my love for romantic cinema has grown-- some movies that inspire my art and directing are About Time, Past Lives, Lady Bird, Elizabethtown, and Pride and Prejudice. I've thought over and over again--- what if I can offer couples a little movie of their own story? Why can't we make their photos feel like the movies? And maybe-- we can even add in some actual video for them?!
As an artist, I'm always wanting to move my work toward that which inspires me. And I don't know what inspires me more than movies and television. The other day, I watched the french film, The Taste of Things, and was reminded that my favorite inspirational cinematic moments come from dreamy light, themes that hit at the core of the human heart, and characters interacting with one another on a number of emotional levels.
Something I think gets lost in a lot of photo sessions is the "characters interacting with one another on a number of emotional levels" part. In Romantic dramas and comedies our favorite characters are two humans who regularly interact and fall harder and harder for one another. In movies, we see characters go get slurpies together, take walks together, get comfortable on their couches together. We see them in their silliest moments and most vulnerable of moments. We suspend belief in moments that aren't practical, just so we can see an ideal moment or ending. To me, creating experiential photo sessions that both look and feel emotional and cinematic is an artistic challenge I'm not sure I could ever tire of.
My vision for my cinema sessions is to really embrace the photo session as if it's an experiential photo shoot. I want you to collaborate with you to tell an interactive experiential story. I don't want you to show up to your session ready to smile at the camera- I want you to show up to the session ready to try a cafe together, love on each other while you walk down the street, look through your favorite grocery store together, or dance playfully in a crosswalk. I want to plan out activities with you. I even want you to relive your story. I want you to hit on each other. I want you to share your gratitude for one another while sitting on a Brownstone.
What do ya say? Is it time you embraced a new cinematic and interactive New York photo session?
Connect with me here to start collaborating on your cinematic session.
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