What is one of the highest honors for a photographer? When your knowledgeable fellow photographer trusts you to put her on the other side of the lens.
Photographers aren’t easy to earn trust of and be pleased. We know the gist of the photography industry, see the best and the worst, go through millions of own and others’ photos (without exaggeration), spot the mistakes and shortcomings, note the extraordinary and know what it takes. Our job is to read, learn, analyze, think, imagine, and implement. We have an inside access to the resources and we are best informed to draw from the the pool of talent, far and near. Being trusted by a photographer to shoot you is a good sign. I was honored to have worked with Vanessa Joy on her boudoir, bridal, and trash-the-dress photoshoots, with Mary Paul of Doodle Bug by Mary Paul on her beauty shoot in India, with Olga and Paul of Verita Vision Photography on their engagement and wedding, with boudoir photographer Melissa Klysner of Christian Pleva Images on her own boudoir session, with family photographer Katrina Krimgold on her own family photo session, and many others. Check out some samples:
Now meet Irina Smirnova, NJ photographer specializing in people, food, and travel photography. I’ve known her for years and we helped each other here and there. On the latest occurrence, she photographed a birthday party for me when I wasn’t available and we agreed that in return I will offer my photo session, giving her a feel of being on the other side of the lens.
As it is the case with most photographers, she rarely has own photos taken by others. (Speaking of which… I couldn’t escape this fate and once had an amazing portrait photographer Natalia Ciobanu of Soul Portrait photograph my elopement wedding in Moldova). Due diligence was in order and after the long preparations and discussions and being in the shoes of her clients (“I have a new respect for people who are preparing for shoots hahaha.”) we shortlisted some ideas: a dressy look, daring for topless, funky hippy vibe, and lots of touchy-feely kind of moods. She picked on my brand’s slogan “Dare to be Photographedâ„¢” and wanted to touch on that, too. I think I covered them all, also paying a tribute to her passion for photography and not forgetting to depict her as a photographer on the other side of the lens.
Click images for full size. Kindly refrain from re-uploading images to social media during the first week of feature. Share instead!
Here are some behind-the-scene shots for you. At the end of the shoot Irina insisted on treating me a dinner at a lovely Indian Mehndi restaurant.
