I feel very fortunate as a photographer to grow in the direction that my work and camera continues to take me. Over the last few years I have been building up my portrait sessions and dedicating more of my time to discovering my “style” and appraoch when working with people. Being able to do these “street” portrait sessions really helps me to work fast and keep an eye for inspirations as they happen. I never plan these shoots aside from picking a spot for the model and I to meet. Everything else is spontaneous fun and decided in the moment. These shoots take about an hour and generally I ask that we meet for a coffee, a quick conversation and then take a walk in the neighborhood, allowing for the place, light, season and mood to inspire me. I like the look and feel of a “spontaneous” meeting and I often ask the model to wear what they please, perhaps giving only the guidline of an “urban feel”, making for the shoot to be even more interesting depending on what they choose to wear. Mostly though, I really like the person that I am working with to be comfortable and vibrant.
This is my second shoot with Yuliia and she is absolutely wonderful to work with, high-spirited on her feet and ready to dance into the light as it happens. This shoot took place in the Plac Konstytucji area of Warsaw, a little later in the afternoon as the sun was beginning to dip low in the sky making for great warm light and lovely long shadows. This warm summer light is exactly what I was hoping to have during this shoot and it worked brilliantly with Yuliias fiery red hair and effervescent personality. Perfect. I have a tendency to second guess some of the choices I make for where I am shooting and despite that, I feel that this shoot was one of my best recently and I am already looking forward to working with Yuliia in the coming Autumn. This time I have a few fun ideas to consider!
All in all, this shoot took under an hour and we walked several blocks chasing the fading light and ducking into interesting places along the way. I work fairly quick during these sessions as I like to keep the energy level up and inspired throughout it. Besides, I hate to waste too much time on figuring out what is next and prefer to just shoot through it using whatever is close to me at the time. This is exactly what I love about urban shooting…the scene is already there, I just need to figure out how to make it work for me at the time. I also will try to maximize the location and work in as many scenes as I can as we walk. If I am already familiar with the area then I might have some ideas as far as direction goes and if not, then I will just go with my gut instinct and follow what inspires me. Not only is this great practice for me to be able to work with people, but it is a great way to keep inspired and boost confidence and creativity.
Over the summer I have had quite a few of these sessions and will share them here soon. The fall is coming and I am already booking for that period as it is my favorite and I am very excited abotu shooting in Warsaw during this time (any tips for spot…greatly appreciated). If you think this type of session might work for you, please feel free drop me a line, DM on Instagram or email me at ewitsoe@gmail.com.
I have selected a few fun images for you to enjoy below. Thank you for watching!
You can follow Yuliia Yasnietsova on her instagram.
Canon EOS 6DII and “L” Series 50mm 1.2F. (mostly shot at f4) gear provide by my awesome partners at Digital24.pl.
Erik Witsoe 