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Me and another student where tasked to assist a second year student in Ravensebourne for one of their photo-shoots, from booking equipment, setting up the studio and helping pack. Our second year was Kai Elles Hollis, who was shooting food photography, was easy to work with and the final product which came from this shoot went really well in the foremost. The company we where working with was Crosstown Doughnuts London, a vegan confectionary store which has multiple stores, stalls and locations around London. 

This shoot is tasked and commissioned to be in a six page magazine spread, with different variables each page, creating the final aspect for each photo to flow naturally of each other. 

The photography above shows our test shoot, in which we bounced ideas off each other for the final product and practiced working together in a studio environment. We where working off of pastries initially for this shoot simply to test out a cheaper means of experimentation thereout. We discussed and researched into food photographers, how the lay their work out in the studio, how they create the photographs they produce. With this, we executed well thought final images, with the cookies being the lead contender throughout the food we brought with us.

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For preparation for the final shoot, we had to write up risk assessments for the kit we where using for the shoot. This being lighting; tripods; sandbags; grey cards, however the camera and lenses where supplied by the tutors (Matt and Julian) being that they where Phases One cameras and Ziese lenses. We only used the 80mm in the end, however with a mixture of forward facing and overhead shots, the execution worked really well.

We experimented with the complementary colours and flavours for each doughnuts used, supplied with different spices, ingredients and condiments. This gave the entire product a more commercial aspect towards the final product, with the photos telling a story throughout the different pages for the magazine.

What makes a good assistant is someone who not only understands the brief, but someone who actually enjoys the project too. Using my shoot for example, when Kai pitched his project plan to me, at foremost I already had ideas to further more make hi photography more interesting. I wanted to help in any possible, so I took his instagram so I could send him posts from there which could spark up inspiration for his final shoot. 

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Being prepared is a given motive for being a photographer, so having the right gear in your bag at all times is a given. Having that spare memory card and extra battery could make or break a shoot. So these are the main items you should always carry in your camera bag. As sated before memory cards and batteries are at most importance; a hard drive on hand to comply with this is always appreciated in this instant, as backing up your data is mandatory; to follow on, a laptop at hand will help you free up space in an empty camera, or to upload your photos after a shoot to check up on the colour gradients, lighting and negative spacing on the subject; masking-tape if you want to make sure all equipment and subjects are accounted for and to plan out ahead of setting up the shoot; and last but no least, grey cards, because grey cards. 

One of the best ways to market yourself in a professional manor is to create connections and do as much work in your chosen industry as possible, whether or not you're comfortable throughout or not. This is one of the best ways to gain confidence in your work and to be able to present your photography to the best of your abilities. If you don't believe your work is good enough, then how do you expect a client to when you hand in a C.V. or give a pitch. Being confident is only half the work however, as being able to take criticism and realise that 'No' is more common than you'd might expect, then you'll be able to move forward at a faster pace. You will most likely be told no ten or twenty times before you hear yes. Lastly is to realise you don't know everything, you are not the smartest in the room, when it comes to photography, you are at a constant learning process, always learning and bouncing off ideas for other like minded people.

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Risk assessments are one of the most important aspects to a studio photoshoot, especially when renting out equipment. You must always be weary of all accidents, mistakes and mishaps that could happen, then formalise an educated example of how you'd tackle that problem and resolve it straight away. These are also good when preventing incidences from happening too, for example limiting the amount of people in a room to prevent overcrowding.

Learning all escape routs and fire escapes are a key factor throughout risk assessments as if or when an accident breaks loose, such as a fire drill or in the actual event, then all safety precautions when come in play and evacuating will be second nature, leaving no danger throughout the shoot.  

Throughout the entirety of Kai's shoot, I was able to experiment in types of photography i've never had the chance to work with. Food photography has always been a motive to experiment with, as in essence it's a form of still life, with more of a commercial use towards it. This shoot helped me gain a greater understanding in this style of photography, further more adding to my portfolio. 

What I've learnt in this shoot is working with a team in a studio environment proceeds greater results, with each member holding their own responsibility. With this at hand, the shoot went really smoothly without many setbacks. Setting up the studio was easier than expected, dew to the diagrams Kai had drawn out for us, and as we had done an experimental shoot just a week before.

It was slow however when trying to replicate the plans and design for each photo, however we all became in tune with the studio environment quickly and was able to work faster. For example instead of swapping out the backdrop for different colours, we instead got our hands on a smaller piece of graff-paper therefore cutting our time down even more instead of replacing the whole roll.

Overall the shoot ended up a success as all images planed where taken with the right precautional value intended in the original view-point. We often improvised with each shot, however this wielded greater shots than anticipated.

Images above show some of Kai's layout designs for his magazine Pages.

Lighting Diagram

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What could have gone better throughout the shoot was a pre planned time sheet, showing the amount of time we had between different shoots, creating a better workflow throughout. With time being an issue, the intended amount of photos in which where needed was therefore taken, however we could have been able to explore and experiment with more complex shots, having a little more room for creativity.

What I would have done if I had the chance would be to be more in contact with the second year, being more present on the thought and design process. Therefore having a greater impact on the shoot than I already intended. 

This sequence above shows the decomposition of a doughnut when being eaten.

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