As a photographer, I am willing to do anything for the shot, including (but not limited to) getting into a moving river, skating onto the ice with a hockey team, and holding your coat during a snowstorm. The key word here is willing. On days when I am not willing but still want to shoot, a little extra creativity goes a long way.
This week’s post is about planning a photoshoot around a location. I’ll walk you through how I made this dark academia-themed photoshoot with my lovely model Nozomi in the first step of my Prep, Shoot, Edit photography workflow.
Two factors influenced the choosing of this location: Minnesota winters are brutal, and I’m living on a century-old college campus. As such, we chose Saint Mary Hall at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota to shoot for its classic dark academia feel. To turn this from a common space into a photo set, I check out three main elements:
Colors
This location has very deep, neutral colors, from the brown couches to the tan walls and brick floors. For this shoot, I chose to match those colors by dressing my model in a similar color pallet of black and white. If I wanted to create a contrast, I might have chosen bold, neon colors to disrupt the classic pallet.
Mood
Because we chose to shoot at night, we’re relying on artificial light rather than natural. In this space, the lighting is warm and dim. Combined with the soft colors, the feel of this space is very cozy, but also classic. To lean into the soft, cozy atmosphere, I have my model in relaxed poses that convey a sense of ease. For the more classy vibe, I chose stronger poses with sharp angles and serious expressions.
Space
If there’s one thing you take away from this post, it’s that your subject and your environment have to work together to create an image. When I scouted this location, I noted down the big elements of the environment and how I wanted to use them to create a dark academia, Pinterest-worthy photo. For me, these became the symmetry of the sitting area, the window panes of the entryway, and the wood paneling all the way up the walls.
And here’s the finished shoot! This photoshoot was such a fun challenge and I think the photos turned out great. I would love to revisit this location for a really classy, old-Hollywood photoshoot. While it’s lots of fun to plan out every single element of a photoshoot, exercises like this that force you to work backwards are a great creative exercise for honing your skills, especially for photographers who want to go pro and won’t always have complete control of their work. For some very silly behind-the-scenes footage of shooting in pajamas on a college campus, check out my Instagram. I have more of my work up on my Portfolio, and of course the board I created for this shoot up on Pinterest. Thanks for coming along!
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