“You don’t really seem like a creep,” said the stranger when I handed her my business card and asked if I could photograph her sometime. “Usually people that ask me that are creeps.” This was my introduction to Katie, whom I had seen in a Loring Park restaurant and approached her with my photo proposition.
A couple of weeks later she emailed me, and asked how a photo session would work. “I’m not very photogenic” she said, which I took to mean that she was uncomfortable in front of the camera, and so I suggested that we meet for coffee so we could get to know each other a bit before we shot anything.
The conversation we had over coffee was really interesting. Katie is smart, strong and brash, but also caring, warm, and refreshingly open. We talked about some ideas for a future photo project, and I suggested that we should meet at my studio for some test shots, so that we could get used to working with each other, and see how she photographed.
As soon as we got into the studio Katie talked non-stop. “I hope you don’t mind my yammering; it makes me feel relaxed.” I didn’t mind at all, because she LOOKED relaxed, and seemingly every shot I took of her was beautiful.
Afterwards, when we were reviewing the images, Katie seemed pleased. “I’ve never had a profile shot of me that I liked before!” I couldn’t believe how many of our “test shots” looked so good. I love how Katie has this very deliberate, stylized persona, with her hair, piercings, and tattoos, but her expression in every shot is so natural and unguarded.
Thank you, Katie, for a great photo shoot today. I look forward to working with you again in the future. (And I’ve got news for you: you’re very photogenic.)
