The Jedi Photographs the Master : Kate Hopewell-Smith & Brent
You have probably heard me speak numerous times about Kate but I'll say again - when I watched one of Kate's talks at the photography show in 2014 I never thought after being totally inspired by her that I would take her picture one day. But life is very unpredictable!
Since then Kate has mentored me a few times & we have become friends who socialise with our other halves, as you can probably tell we have a lot in common. A few months ago I asked Kate to photograph Rob & I for business & personal reasons, & this turned into an amazing collaborative shoot which you can see here:
http://blog.katehopewellsmith.com/2016/06/22/people-photography-and-the-importance-of-teamwork/
Everything Kate speaks about in this blog mirrors how I feel so I won't speak about it too much, you can read Kate's instead! But what's lovely about photographing other photographers is that they understand they also have to give something in order to get great imagery. Obviously it's the photographers job to make their subjects feel comfortable, get the right composition, light & technically know what they're doing! But - the subjects need to be willing if they really want the best images they can get. As you can see from mine & Rob's shoot we didn't shy away from anything & let Brent hose us with freezing water. Was it worth it - absolutely!
When Kate asked me to do the same for herself & Brent (minus the hose) I was excited & scared. I think it's normal to get a little bit of nerves before a shoot - well I still do! But this was different, this was 'The Jedi Photographing The Master'. What didn't help was the 34 degree heat we also had to deal with, but again we were all willing to soldier on as we all had the same goal. I didn't mind being in a boiling hot attic to shoot from above, Kate & Brent didn't mind cuddling up & being very close sharing more heat with each other! Once the shoot got started the nerves went away & I really started to enjoy myself & just embraced the fact I was photographing my photography inspiration! Pretty amazing. We waited until the evening to take shots outside so the sun had calmed down & we had the most amazing golden hour. It was great being shown how my gold reflector can be put to use to put light back in their faces when choosing to backlight them with the sun. It was one of those lightbulb moments & just transformed what I could see through the lens.
A few different images from our shoot are attached below & I am so glad / proud I took up the challenge. Knowing some of my images are going to be on Kate & Brent's wall in their home fills me with pride! You can also see a few of these images in October's edition of Practical Photography Magazine for Kate's column.
Enjoy x
