Behind the Scenes: Our first 2021 shoot

Last week we picked up our cameras again for a collaboration shoot with model Anita Arora and her good friend Gurps. Over the last year our time behind the camera has been limited due to Covid-19, picking up only for our doorstep shoots in the summer, and a few family sessions between August and November. So we now feel its time to dust off those Canons and get back out there!

Summer 2020 doorstep portraits

To kick off this years busy season we thought we would share a little documentary on our first shoot back, showcasing new techniques and a hopeful outlook for 2021.

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Shoot Prep...

Anita responded to a model call we placed out in a Facebook group for London creatives, and we got chatting from there. The brief was a 'best friend' shoot, drawing inspiration from the idea of 'galentines' and reuniting with friends after lockdown. We pulled together a Pinterest board to illustrate what we were trying to achieve on this shoot - and feedback from Anita and Gurps was that this was extremely useful! So will definitely be doing this again! (also a good tip for any other photographers seeing this)

You can find us and our inspo boards on Pinterest here: www.pinterest.co.uk/boothsphotography

Once everyone was clear on the concept for the shoot it was time to scout out location! I already had a place in mind but needed to take a visit to make sure it would be suitable.

A few days before the shoot Jim and I visited Bushy Park in Teddington, to explore their Waterhouse Woodland Gardens, located in the middle of the park. I had been here before with my sister and remembered it being a secluded place with great gardening and landscaping. As soon as we entered we knew it was the place! Full of daffodils and blossoms that were screaming out to be photographed!

Pair of best friends - Tick!

Location - Tick!

The final piece of prep for us was to pull together a shot list of things we wanted to capture on the day, and then just let the shoot flow around these. I like to have a few shots decided so I'm not left there twiddling my thumbs wondering what to take next. For these I create a list on my phone so I can check it easily on shoot - again, another great tip if you're a photographer.

The shoot...

The day itself felt very natural, meeting the girls early morning and just walking and talking into the garden area. We like to get to know the people we photograph, it's important to build a connection and make them feel at ease - having your photo taken can be daunting and awkward for anyone!

I'll just drop some photos in from the shoot here, so instead of me telling you how the morning went, you can just see:

We are so happy with how this shoot turned out and excited to have some fresh new photos to showcase. More shoots are booked in from this week, and we will soon be launching into our first ever wedding season!

We would like to take this time to thank you all for your ongoing support and we hope to see Booths grow even more this year!

Rachel & Jim