It’s often the simplest questions that can baffle me.  Like, “So why are you a photographer? ”

I buy time with my response.  “Great question!”  Even now I struggle to answer that question directly, openly and honestly.  It feels like someone is asking me to justify my choice of underwear.

A young woman, who responded to a casting call for models, had a much clearer answer why she might turn up at Wellington Railway Station on a Saturday morning being photographed by stranger.  “Oh I love to model, it’s fun.  And, I need some new head shots for my portfolio”.   So there was my brief.  Head shots for a fun loving, budding theatrical star with her sights on the bright lights of London’s West End theatres.

With the pleasantries out of the way Charli and I spent the next hour together with me desperately trying not to make an idiot of myself.  I took rather too many photographs to make sure that I could repay my model with the head shots that she was hoping for.  The clock ticked away rather too quickly and by the time our session time was up I was just warming up and ready to get more adventurous.  That said, you know that your model has had enough when between shots they are having to massage their face as their smile muscles are aching.

This photographic shoot was pretty spontaneous.  The hard yards start next weekend when another shoot has to be preplanned and our photographs be judged on how well we met our shoot goals and shot list.  I’ve recruited a good friend for that shoot which may or may not give me greater photographic performance anxiety. We’ll see, and I’ll report back.