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Photoshoot while herding cats
Nov. 23rd, 2017 12:02 pm Saturday was our Sense of Bellydance photoshoot. It's remarkable how much a SoB meeting resembles the activity of herding cats. AS usual, things happened last minute, irritation was felt and everything came out okay in the end. So let me start....
We arranged for everyone to be tehre at twelve ó clock. I finished my costume that morning and even had some hours to spare for drinking tea and playing with Eliza. Those peaceful hours were interrupted by a frantci Facebook Meesenger discussion about G.'s 6 year old daughter who wanted to be in the shoot.
I am already annoyed that we're abusing Facebook messengare for group discussion. Hate the tool, hate the interface, hate it that I have to scroll through 20+ pages to find the information I was looking for. But, soit, such is life. G. posted pictures of her 6 year old daughter, mentioned that she wanted to join and if we mind. Ofcourse R replyd that she's sort of part of the group and yes, ofcourse she's welcome!
*facepalm*. We had a group meeting three weeks ago to discuss the shoot. G didn't mention her daughter during that meeting. We could have addressed it in a timely manner. but no! Last minute decision making! I added that I didn't think it was a good idea to have her there because A we we're going o be there for 5 hours and her attention span is not that long (not sure if my attention span could make it, for that matter). and B we prepared this as a group shoot and I looked forward to doing it with them. Having her daughter around would certainly changed the focus of the shoot.
Her husband ended up bringing her daughter around 16.30, she quickly changed and we took a group picture. Crisis averted, everyone happy. I will get back to this in a later post though. Back to the shoot!
I got there around 12.15 and walked into a double garage with an upstairs place to sit and change. It's nice! We had a meeting to discuss what we wanted (I sort of managed that part, by showing them prints of poses we liked and discussing options). Leoniek started on setting the lights and doing a bit of product photography of our doumbeks and zills while we got ready. Gluing of eyelashes ensued. I did the eye make-up of four group members, we all got dressed and started with the group pictures at 14.00.
That was a lot of fun! We started with small groups that could be edited into a bigger group picture. We joked around and have fun, it was a nice way to start the shoot and get used to being photographed. we procedded in building a pyramid shape composition. No real pyramids were hurt during this part, and we used cushions and stepping stools to get a bit of height difference. I think it'll work well and create an image that shows all of us, without being the standard 'sit in a row' look.
It was 15.00 by then and we proceeded with the individual shoot. Each of us got 5-8 minutes in front of the camera. I hope it results in a nice image to use for my website, but we'll see. I think that amount of time is probably not enough to get a really nice solo picture, but who knows. The photographer was awesome, Leoniek takes pictures for our praty in Zeist for the past couple of years so she knew what she got erself into.
I was rather happy with how my evening gown with gold ornaments came out, though I sensed that R was a bit sad for being frumpy and short and not looking as glam as she would have liked (she adjusted an existing Egyptisn style bra and belt with long lushious fringe that looked totally gorgeous on her). We all wore a different shade of purple and different styles of dresses but as an overall look it worked great.
Wearing cntrol underwear to smooth out bumps also helped to create a smoother line. I am still suprised with how big I look but that's just the way it is right now. Around 16.00 we got really, really tired. We coached each other during the solo shoots, and talked and danced a bit to stay warm. For me, the shoot should have been over at 16.00 but we had to wait for G.'s husband and daughter who came in around 16.30. Because they had to go to the Sinterklaas intocht and other activities as well that day.
*doubleface palm*
Not only did she throw in her daughter and complicate our day, she also made her husband, son and daughter's day super complicated! All I could think of was:ýou could have said no'. No honey, you can't be in this photoshoot. Maybe next time. Maybe we do a seperate shoot. But no, you can't come today'
Seriously. I try to refrain from opinions on parenting but in this case twelve people had to deal with the consequences and it sucked for us. I'm glad that we have a nice picture with her as well, but I'm not sure if it was worth the anxiety and frustration.
Around 17.00 we wrapped thing up , got undressed, wiped our make-up off and went home. I am glad that after three years I finally did a photoshoot and have some new images to use for my promotion. It is different to do a group shoot compared to a solo shoot, that's for sure! We;ll see the results in a couple of weeks.
We arranged for everyone to be tehre at twelve ó clock. I finished my costume that morning and even had some hours to spare for drinking tea and playing with Eliza. Those peaceful hours were interrupted by a frantci Facebook Meesenger discussion about G.'s 6 year old daughter who wanted to be in the shoot.
I am already annoyed that we're abusing Facebook messengare for group discussion. Hate the tool, hate the interface, hate it that I have to scroll through 20+ pages to find the information I was looking for. But, soit, such is life. G. posted pictures of her 6 year old daughter, mentioned that she wanted to join and if we mind. Ofcourse R replyd that she's sort of part of the group and yes, ofcourse she's welcome!
*facepalm*. We had a group meeting three weeks ago to discuss the shoot. G didn't mention her daughter during that meeting. We could have addressed it in a timely manner. but no! Last minute decision making! I added that I didn't think it was a good idea to have her there because A we we're going o be there for 5 hours and her attention span is not that long (not sure if my attention span could make it, for that matter). and B we prepared this as a group shoot and I looked forward to doing it with them. Having her daughter around would certainly changed the focus of the shoot.
Her husband ended up bringing her daughter around 16.30, she quickly changed and we took a group picture. Crisis averted, everyone happy. I will get back to this in a later post though. Back to the shoot!
I got there around 12.15 and walked into a double garage with an upstairs place to sit and change. It's nice! We had a meeting to discuss what we wanted (I sort of managed that part, by showing them prints of poses we liked and discussing options). Leoniek started on setting the lights and doing a bit of product photography of our doumbeks and zills while we got ready. Gluing of eyelashes ensued. I did the eye make-up of four group members, we all got dressed and started with the group pictures at 14.00.
That was a lot of fun! We started with small groups that could be edited into a bigger group picture. We joked around and have fun, it was a nice way to start the shoot and get used to being photographed. we procedded in building a pyramid shape composition. No real pyramids were hurt during this part, and we used cushions and stepping stools to get a bit of height difference. I think it'll work well and create an image that shows all of us, without being the standard 'sit in a row' look.
It was 15.00 by then and we proceeded with the individual shoot. Each of us got 5-8 minutes in front of the camera. I hope it results in a nice image to use for my website, but we'll see. I think that amount of time is probably not enough to get a really nice solo picture, but who knows. The photographer was awesome, Leoniek takes pictures for our praty in Zeist for the past couple of years so she knew what she got erself into.
I was rather happy with how my evening gown with gold ornaments came out, though I sensed that R was a bit sad for being frumpy and short and not looking as glam as she would have liked (she adjusted an existing Egyptisn style bra and belt with long lushious fringe that looked totally gorgeous on her). We all wore a different shade of purple and different styles of dresses but as an overall look it worked great.
Wearing cntrol underwear to smooth out bumps also helped to create a smoother line. I am still suprised with how big I look but that's just the way it is right now. Around 16.00 we got really, really tired. We coached each other during the solo shoots, and talked and danced a bit to stay warm. For me, the shoot should have been over at 16.00 but we had to wait for G.'s husband and daughter who came in around 16.30. Because they had to go to the Sinterklaas intocht and other activities as well that day.
*doubleface palm*
Not only did she throw in her daughter and complicate our day, she also made her husband, son and daughter's day super complicated! All I could think of was:ýou could have said no'. No honey, you can't be in this photoshoot. Maybe next time. Maybe we do a seperate shoot. But no, you can't come today'
Seriously. I try to refrain from opinions on parenting but in this case twelve people had to deal with the consequences and it sucked for us. I'm glad that we have a nice picture with her as well, but I'm not sure if it was worth the anxiety and frustration.
Around 17.00 we wrapped thing up , got undressed, wiped our make-up off and went home. I am glad that after three years I finally did a photoshoot and have some new images to use for my promotion. It is different to do a group shoot compared to a solo shoot, that's for sure! We;ll see the results in a couple of weeks.
