Sarah Lloyde is not my usual type of client. She is used to being in front of the camera. The Adelaide singer starred on The Voice and often fronts as lead singer of the Hindley Street Country Club. She has released original music videos, plays regular gigs, does Fringe-show cameos, and has an engaging online content of selfies, professional photos, candid snaps and videos of herself singing and messing around. She seems to be the carefree "It" girl of Adelaide. People who don't know Sarah, wouldn't see the sweet, empathetic and generous soul who would lay her life down for her two dogs, Zito and Zuoko, and animals everywhere. She is a self-confessed goof-ball with a brilliant smile. Yet, even when meeting me, for what must have felt like her millionth photoshoot, she still felt a twinge of nerves. Fronting a camera for half of your life doesn't necessarily make it any easier. What does, is your photographer.
We met in the car park of the public park where she had her wedding photos taken. It is important to choose a location where at least one of us has been before, she had mentioned this was a sentimental spot for her, so I went down a week earlier to familiarise myself with it, pick out some nice spots and learn the light. This meant on the day there was NO fluffing around deciding where to set up , I came armed with a plan.
Sarah brought her mum for support and we chat about her dogs and life and boyfriends/ husbands. She had sent me a few photos from other photographers that she liked, while we cant re-create exactly those images its an easy way to pick a few poses to start the session and go from there. The key is not to have any empty time where no-one knows what they are doing. If I can take control of the plan and keep things moving there are no moments to let that brain wander into self-conscious uncertainty. We had so much fun laughing about the poses and situations, the bridge we chose was absolutely covered in duck poo!
Sarah's mum ended up being quite the amazing assistant, helping me carry props from one spot to another , silver linings of clients bringing a cheerleader that I will never complain about! She had a few ideas for some cute poses too. It didn't take too long before it felt like what we were doing was just the most normal thing in the world, three friends chatting and messing around.
All the natural smiles and instruction given in a friendly way made for some incredible shots. There was no awkward, forced or sterile posing like what you would expect at a studio, the familiar company and setting plus the overall atmosphere of the shoot meant Sarah most importantly had a great experience. Killer photos were just a bonus.
Sarah is a curvy, sexy lady, and we accentuated that alongside her love of the retro style and a beautiful natural backdrop. This sweet bombshell overcame her nerves and a fear of coming across as awkward to release her inner pop-star and took home some eye-catching images for her new album and more importantly, a self-confidence boost from a day filled with fun memories she spent at the park with her mum and funny photographer friend Paige.
You can check out Sarah Lloyde on Spotify or on social media, she is not just a pretty face her voice is incredible.
While most of us aren't pop stars and spend a lot of time avoiding the camera instead of facing it. What we can take away from this story, is that everyone feels the same, and a photoshoot is not made by the model , the light , the posing or the equipment, it is mostly made from the experience of just doing it and having a laugh at yourself.
If it is time you got out and just do it, get in contact with me to chat about creating something beautiful and filling your shoot day with pampering, fun and photography antics.