Peter's Practice Makes Perfect

I needed some practice, so I recently put out a model call.

I had two spots open for a complimentary session, including approximately five lightly-edited images. Four or five people responded, but as always, not everyone made it onto the calendar at first.

One of the more unexpected responses came through a friend from high school, a documentary filmmaker named Raul, who shared my post in a local filmmakers group. That’s how I connected with Peter—an actor who needed new headshots. Peter reached out, we talked about what he was looking for and, eventually, we got a session scheduled.

We met in Escondido, where the quaint shops along Grand Avenue made for some great backdrops. I’ll be honest—at the start of the session, I was nervous. So nervous, in fact, that I couldn’t get the lens cap off my camera. I pulled at it a little too hard, and it went flying across the courtyard. Peter had to pick it up for me. Not exactly the most graceful way to kick things off.

I remember thinking, “Nice one, Danny. Way to instill confidence in the client!”

But after that rocky beginning, things started to click. Peter really got into the session—his being an actor definitely helped—and we ended up having a lot of fun.

I captured some shots I’m really proud of, and best of all, Peter was thrilled with the results.

With every session, I learn something new—about aperture, composition, lighting, and the art of portrait photography, and Peter's session was no different.

The photo accompanying this post was just one of the great shots we got for Peter.

I learned that it's important to remember that, even when things start out a little bumpy, you can always end up with amazing results!

Plus, you can have a lot of fun. Win-win. DTP