MONDAY
Put together a post for Paid Subscribers which has a tried and tested 3-light set up for studio. I get asked about lighting all the time and whilst i’m not calling myself a lighting specialist, I’m feel confident enough to bring some of the things I’ve learned from my assistants over the years to you. I hope it proves helpful :) Next up will be a sort of ‘glossary’ of lighting kit that you guys can refer back to when faced with an EQ list you don’t understand. If there is anything in particular in this area that you’d like to know - jot it down below and I can incorporate.
Did some post-production on a shoot I did three weeks ago. It’s not been a crazy few weeks for me so I’m doing the retouching for this shoot whilst I have the time on my hands. It’s v straightforward - colour grade and a bit of skinwork and I would rather keep the money in my business for now.
Spend the afternoon sketchbooking, and collaging. I’m feel very ‘manual’ in my process at the moment which i’m enjoying so much - it really feels like it’s not work at all but then I post the results on my Instagram and realise how much it shows about my process and my natural aesthetic. It feels too fun and thoughtless to be work - but then that’s the life of a working creative I guess (when things are flowing anyway).
TUESDAY
An old client who I love working with got in touch with me for the first time in a while. We used to do social content and ‘smaller’ shoots but now they’ve asked me to do 3-day campaign at the end of March. Such a happy email to receive, especially because I love working with them so much. Weird back story - I went on a ski holiday with my sister when I was 19 years old and we were sharing a chalet with the designer who started this brand, and her daughters, who were about 14 and 15 at the time. Fast forward 20 odd years and the younger daughter reached out to me to shoot a home campaign after the first lockdown lifted - we’d kept in touch and remembered each other that long, and now we were working together. Five years after that first shoot, the relationship still stands which is something that I’m really proud of.
Had a lovely long chat with a new mentee in USA, running through her portfolio and chatting trough next steps.
Received a reply from a hotel I was hoping shoot at in April… and they charge a flat shooting fee of €5000. Not going to happen so it’s back to drawing board. There are lots of other great hotels in the place I want to shoot but this was easily the one I wanted the most so I’m disappointed and the client will be as well. Brush yourself off and try again.
WEDNESDAY
London day. I’m having a physical portfolio made which I’ve been planning for ages. I could have done it online but I’m such a manual person I can’t make decisions unless I have something in my hands - especially with colour. I want the portfolio to be quite bright and colourful so seeing it in person is so important. Went from there to 'The Face Magazine: Culture Shift’ exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery which I highly recommend. Reminds me of pouring over my sister’s copies of the infamous Corine Day / Kate Moss shoot and ‘Up Norf’ by Elaine Constantine which remain on my ultimate favourite photo mood board (in my head - I don’t do physical vision boards or anything) to this day. Nowadays, if i’m in London for a meeting, I’ll make sure to double up with a gallery visit as it’s become clear to me in the last year that it really helps to shape my work, and hone my eye. Last week I saw ‘Letizia Battaglia; Life, Love and Death in Sicily’ at The Photographers Gallery in Soho and found it so moving, especially having been to the island so recently. It’s sadly shut now but I think moving around the world so look out to see if it comes somewhere near you. I feel so inspired by imagery that isn’t anything to do with fashion at the moment. Maybe it’s the former journalist in me but I’m feeling very drawn to photojournalistic style, story-telling and imagery that speaks about culture (which all feeds back into and informs good fashion photography as well in my opinion).
A meeting with a client in the afternoon is cancelled but hey ho - it’s been a great day and we reorganise for another time to chat about a potential summer shoot, which has come about since I posted the Boteh campaign. That shoot is proving to be a real boost for my portfolio - sometimes there’s just a job or editorial that sort of shifts things and this is proving to be one of them.
THURSDAY
Another chat with another mentee laying out a strategy for the year and finessing outreach style - some people need a more systematic approach to outreach that a messy spreadsheet just doesn’t satisfy, so we put together a plan to create a newsletter but that just sends out portfolio updates as and when it’s a good time to share new work. Everyone approaches it differently and this is what we came down to as a way that suited the way she/her mind works.
My back and neck have started seizing up again (my blame is on the terrible British weather and traumatising news cycle keeping my shoulders somewhere around my ears all day long). To avoid what happened last year I have booked myself in for a head, neck and back massage - I’m going into a seriously busy month and my neck going half way through is not an option.
FRIDAY
Home day. March is (mercifully) all booked up with a 2 or 3 day shoot every week for three weeks so am trying to take the free time whilst I have it. This school year I booked our youngest daughter into Pre-School on Fridays to give me some extra padding as I was finding four days at my desk just wasn’t enough. One thing it’s brought me, which I hadn’t planned, was some time to myself. Until late last year I had never been in our house alone (we moved in 3 years ago…) which is absolutely mad. Now unless there’s printing or editing or something I need to be in the office for I work from home, just for the sake of being alone. Priceless.
P.S. Do you have any assisting opportunities you need to get great photographers for? Or are there jobs you can’t do that you want to pass onto someone else? To list them on our Job Board and tap into this amazing community of creatives, just send the details to studio@aliciawaite.com.
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I saw the Letizia Battaglia when I was in London late last year - so powerful!