It was early morning when I arrived at the cemetery for the shoot. Personnel was minimal, with the crew consisting of only myself and the model. The sun had yet to rise so I spent the next half hour alone in the dark testing my gear.
The grounds were unkempt with lots of overgrowth but lucky for us the flowers were in bloom. We had planned to use a fish eye lens to capture a 90s editorial look and in addition the lens distortion adds an eerie, otherworldly quality to the photos.
Just after sunrise I met with our model to kick off the shoot. We started with some shots of the model walking among the headstones. The light was far from perfect so we had to improvise with some additional lighting which in the end we opted to go without. We captured some shots of our model posing with flowers with the lens distorting and creating a beautiful frame around her face. Lastly we wanted to capture shots of our model from a super low angle to create a beautiful scale and length effect.
The fish eye lens really captured a supernatural feeling in the cemetery and the models, especially the contrast of the brightly coloured clothing and energetic styling against the still concrete backdrop.
Overall, it was a successful shoot. The fish eye lens added an element of fun and quirkiness to the photos. The cemetery was a beautiful and peaceful setting, and the colours were very flattering. We got some great shots and I'm so keen to get out there and take some more! Check out my instagram for more shoot updates!