Today I want to talk to you guys about my first photo shoot experience which took place on Saturday 7th November 2015. I know the post is a little overdue, but for a while I was debating whether I should blog about it or not. I loved the whole experience, but I wasn't ready to share it because of my low self-confidence.
The photo shoot took place at Broadway Studios in South Wimbledon. The whole experience lasted for about 4 hours as does every session you have with them, starting at 9.30 in the morning to 1.30 in the afternoon, I chose this time because it was perfect for me so that I could have the rest of the day to do as I please. I was referred by one of my friends to do this photo shoot and I got an extremely great offer of only paying £5 for the whole experience, at first, I was a bit standoffish, but they told me I could pay the deposit of £5 and if I didn't want to go through with it I could cancel my booking and get my deposit back. Always read the fine print.
It was a lot of work when trying to move around my booking to a time that suited me the most because I was on placement at the time working full-time and I also worked part-time at a retail store. But in the end, I got a booking I was happy with so never just be complacent with what they offer, discuss details and timings because it is a business after all.
The £5 deposit entitles me to 5 complimentary prints of my choosing without any editing applied and the deposit I would get back after 30 days of the shoot if I do not buy any of their packages which I did not. Then you would have to pay depending on where you live for them to send the prints to you, in my case it cost £5 to deliver to my home where I live just outside of London.
The whole process was relatively quick and I didn't want to waste any time as I was on my own and just wanted to go home after a long start to the day in which I had to wake up at 6 to get to the studio. I woke up at 6, left at 7 to travel to the shoot. Arrived at 8.40 ish, went into hair and makeup at 9.30 and wrapped up at around 11am.
They have Wi-Fi so all you would have to do to gain access is to ask for the password. I had orange juice, it tasted fresh and was chilled in a nice clean glass. When it came to 9.30am they took me into hair and makeup, I really enjoyed getting done up, it felt relaxing and was super fun chatting to the team. I literally have never felt or looked more beautiful in my entire life!
Then it was time for the real fun to begin and I was taken to the actual studio, it was one large room split into two rooms with different styles, objects, furniture and backgrounds. You get to choose from 3 outfits for various pictures, styles and positions, we took a series of shots that looked girly, flirty, strong and empowering. Although I wish they told me beforehand that there were two sets within the studio as I believe it would have affected my outfit choice and more information about the photo shoot structure as a whole.
My three outfits were: a black jumpsuit from New Look, a blue dress from New Look, my black quote work t-shirt from H&M, black treggings from H&M and Kurt Geiger black heels. Jewellery from Laura Ashley, Accessorize and Debenhams.
One downside from the shoot was that I wished the changing rooms were properly made instead of it being slightly like a shower cubicle next to a blacked out window so you could pretty much see the reflection from the outside of the fitting room which meant they could see you as well...changing! This also made me feel a little rushed to get changed and making the photographer wait...if you know me well I dislike making people wait for me.
After all the fun, I got changed back into my clothes which I wore upon arrival and went back to the waiting area where I had to wait for the viewing session of my photos. I was quite happy that I got an early booking even though I had to wake up very early, it started to get quite busy in the studio. And where a lady who just arrived was very angry because she came all this way here just for them to say that because she was late she had to forfeit her photo shoot session. This goes to show that you need to read the fine print and to always arrive at least 20 minutes I would say to any appointment.
During my wait for my viewing session, one of the receptionists approached me and asked if I would like to refer any of my contacts so that the more contacts I gave the more money I could get off a number of edited photos. I asked if I could provide contacts but if I changed my mind about buying more photos then I would like the contact sheet back. I did this because if the photos turned out awful I wouldn't want to spend hundred on photos I disliked and referring my contacts for an experience that in the end wasn't worth it. In the end, I didn't buy any more photos than the 5 I got free, but I let them keep my contacts because it was a great experience and it was a great first photo shoot.
When the time came to view my photos, I went into a small lovely room where a woman was waiting next to a PC, and a sofa for me to sit on and a projector projecting my photos. We discussed our interests, the photos of course, if I have done anything like this and many compliments thrown at me which I was considerate of. In the end, I chose my 5 pictures which arrived on a CD and I have complete and absolute rights to these photos now. And you can see these photos throughout this post and I hope you like them and maybe would want to do a photo shoot in the future. When I came out of the viewing room the receptionist told me I could get a handful of makeup for free because of the amount of contacts I provided, but it was nothing special, not brands that I knew, more like drug store makeup.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Ax
*All images are my own - taken by Broadway Studios
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