BTS - Without Wings

Self Portrait - Behind the Scenes

I love looking at other photographers’ “Behind the Scenes” because I enjoy seeing how other people approach their image making. Sometimes things are much more complex or much more simple than they seem from only viewing the final image, so I always appreciate getting a little peek behind the curtain.

I start all of my self portrait sessions with a lot of scouting. Sometimes I’ll visit a location just to scout (it helps to go around the same time of day that you think you’d like to photograph) and sometimes I’ll just show up to a location a little early and do my scouting before the session.

I had been to this spot two times in the previous week (and twice before that within the past year), but I actually hadn’t noticed this rock formation during any of my trips. As I was scouting this session, I approached it from the opposite side of the formation where I saw sun blasting onto the rock and lighting it beautifully but very evenly. I was immediately drawn to the negative space that seemed to form a little well, nest or womb. The light wasn’t particularly interesting, but I thought if the angle was right it might have nice backlight if I walked around to the other side - thankfully it did.

I knew I wanted some sort of classic painting feeling based on the light alone, and it also felt a bit religious in an ancient Greek/Roman sort of way. I leaned into that with my posing, referencing shapes that I thought would further the narrative that was beginning to form.

My camera was positioned low and set on an internal intervalometer which lets me control when the exposures will begin, the time between frames and how many frames will be captured. I find this to be the best way to shoot when I have to climb things :)

Enjoy this video of the process and feel free to comment with any questions, I’d be happy to answer!

If you are someone who likes photo assignments, I challenge you to go out to the same spot five times within the next 30 days and make images each time. It may be exciting and new each and every time, and it may (hopefully) get monotonous. Being pushed up against creative monotony forces you to start observing things / your surroundings / light in new ways, and hopefully it will help stretch your creativity. If you decide to take on the challenge, I’d love to see what you make.