When the Photo Concept Makes Me Nervous

It's been a minute since I've written one of these—life’s been a little hectic lately (in the best way).

I just wrapped a photo shoot with Meghan, who brought a challenging concept. When she reached out to collaborate, I was excited but apprehensive. Her concept had techniques I haven't touched in a while—ones that didn’t exactly fall into what I thought of as “my style.” But of course, I like a challenge. So I did it anyway. I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and learned a lot. Here is what I learned and why you should take on a shoot that scares you.

New Territory:

So what exactly did Meghan bring to the table? Her concept board had "dragging the shutter" and colour gels—both of which I had attempted before, but did not like the look. I could never get colour gels that pleased my aesthetic. Why I decided to do this... who knows... haha! I panicked for sure. I knew I had to start planning this right away.

The Process:

With how nervous I was about the shoot, I knew I couldn't just wing it! I am thankful to Pinterest. I dove in deep and found some colour inspiration with colours that sparked something in me. I took those colours into a lighting software to see how the lights would be positioned in advance. Planning this out made me build a stronger plan.

Of course, lighting is one aspect, but I needed to find a team to support the vision. Both the Hair & Makeup Artist and Stylist killed it. Seriously, they made my job easier.

Then came shoot day—and a curveball. We had a hard stop at 2 PM, which meant I had an hour to an hour and a half to pull off multiple looks (3 to be exact), multiple lighting scenarios and dragging my shutter... no pressure, right!?

Picture this: You kick things off with a classic three-light setup for a clean look. Then, you start dragging the shutter to get a more experimental feel—only to snap right back to your standard settings. Next, you shift most of your lights to the far right, keep one centred, and start layering on colour gels. And just when you think you’ve settled in, you strip it all back to two lights and swap in red gels for a completely different vibe. If that’s not a complicated setup... I don’t know what is.

Kat, our stylist, also brought in 3 killer looks, and of course, I wanted to shoot them all. She was okay with just doing two, but I just couldn't let the third option go.

With all those moving parts, I huddled with Kat and broke down my game plan: start clean, drag shutter, do the second outfit, do one set of gels and exclude the red if I don't get time.

Guess what? We wrapped up at 1:30 PM—with the red look in the bag. I allotted 15 minutes per lighting concept, and thanks to all that prep, everything ran smoothly with time to spare.

Reflection:

My oh my—this might be some of the best work the team and I have created. And the lighting? Pretty killer, if I do say so myself.

More than anything, I felt a sense of relief after this shoot. It reminded me that with the right preparation and the right people by my side, I can handle big, complex concepts—even the ones that scare me a little.

This experience pushed me not only creatively and technically but also emotionally. I walked away feeling stronger as a photographer, which doesn't come easily to me.

But this shoot stretched my idea of what my style could be. It reminded me that growth doesn't mean being perfect and perfecting your normal—it often comes from stepping into the unknown.

A massive thank you to Meghan for trusting me with her vision and bringing something bold to the table. She did not settle for another concept that I had shot before. If it weren't for her, these images would not exist in my portfolio—and neither would this new confidence I feel in my work.

I get to say that I am a photographer capable of rising to new challenges and heights. This shoot reminded me how much growth can come from learning in the unknown. And for that, I am truly grateful.

Here is my call to models and the universe: keep challenging me. Keep pushing me into the unknown—the unknown is where I'll thrive, learn and experience new growth beyond what I could envision for myself. Check out more of this work here.

When was the last time you stepped outside your comfort zone?

Team Credits:

Model & Art Director: Megha Hass @megan.haass

Photographer: Nirvaani @studionirvaani

Stylist: Kat Kairys @wardrobebykat

Hair & Makeup: Rythmn Malhotra @artistrybyrhythm