Shoot Date: June 27, 2010

Sandy Moore arrived exactly on time, and had interpreted my wardrobe desires perfectly. She greeted me with a huge, sweet smile, and we chatted amiably as we walked from the parking lot to the wilderness area. I was so excited to see her in person: Many of her profile photos had a glammed-up style, but as soon as I saw her face, I thought of nothing but “bohemian girl in golden, rustling, tall grass.” I had to do a bit of scouting to find the right location, so I was very pleased when she showed up and proved me right as a perfect natural, bohemian model. :)

Since early morning assignments are not my MUA‘s favorite (she’s got kids!), and because this was a very natural-beauty themed shoot, Sandy provided her own make up, which was lovely shades of brown and neutrals.

We walked out into some tall grass, right off the bat, and the funny thing I noticed: when I had scouted the location a few days earlier with my best friend, I was pretty nervous about actually entering any of the grassy areas and whatnot, since I am a first.rate.PRISS! But once the camera was in my hand, and the model-photographer magic started flowing, I found myself tromping through grass, sitting in dirt, sticking my face through plants to get close ups… it was pretty amusing.

And Sandy was right at home in the wilderness! Within minutes she was sprawled out in the grass for me, providing that shot above, which I absolutely adore. :)

At one point, both the model and I heard a sound that sounded enough like a rattlesnake that we both, wide-eyed, did a “Did you hear that?”, “Yep… you did too?”, “Yep. Let’s scram!!!” I’ll tell you, that (be it snake or not) was my closest experience with a rattlesnake. Ever. Oh, how I hate snakes. But oh, do I love photography. ;P

I had really wanted to do a shoot in a field, where the varying depths of field are evident in the flowers/grass that surround the model. I got exactly what I wanted:

I’ve been told the photo would have been more striking with a portrait lens, rendering the background blurrier, but personally, I really like the bokeh as it is.

My scouting buddy and I had found a dried up creek bed, but assessed it a little too dangerous to climb into, since the rocks were unsteady and whatnot. But did that stop our Sandy? Oh no. She saw a prime location and she was not about to pass it up!! She found a path and jumped on down, and I followed, yet again amused. We got some great shots in there!

The lighting was beautiful:

And we’ll just ignore the fact that we found a dead bird carcass while there. Because, you know… that would taint an otherwise lovely story. ;P

As you can tell, Sandy and I had a really miserable time. And here’s the photographic proof:

I kept snapping candid shots of her laughing, and she told me I could post them and say, “See? Proof that I’m funny.” So there you have it. I’m funny. :)

In addition to mailing me her model release (since I, in my morning stupor, forgot to have her sign one!), Sandy was even sweet enough to contact me the next day, when she fell unexpectedly ill, to warn me to take a bunch of vitamin C. Adorable!!

For more images from this wilderness shoot, view the slideshow: