If you’ve been around Thistle & Sun for a while, you know that learning new stuff is one of my things. Probably due to my bookish personality, I prefer having time to process, to marinate in a new concept, technique, or information rather than learning by seat-of-my-pants experiences. So, a couple of times every year I plan a practice shoot to work on a weak spot. I’ll put out a call for models on Instagram, set up a date, and then get ready to shoot. The opportunity to play around and soak in this craft I love has always made for favorite experiences - this study was no different.

My model, Lenyer, and I started off with turning a lifestyle session on its head. Normally, most photographers (myself included!) would shoot lifestyle with natural light spilling in the windows. I wanted to see what documentary photos look like using flash - so Lenyer opened up her home, and fried up some french toast.

The second part of the shoot was outdoors, in downtown Raleigh. We used an obliging parking garage, walked down to the museums, and back.

While this is only a beginning, it’s a good start. I can’t wait to bring what I learned during this study shoot to future assignments - bring it, dark reception spaces!