Do you ever just wonder what all goes on behind the scenes of a Spokesmodel shoot?  How much planning is there?  What happens if the weather doesn’t cooperate?  It is one of the biggest shoots most of us senior photographers do per year so you know there is a little stress that goes along with it! 🙂  Sometimes it is just nice to know others are in the same boat and hear another photographers experience.  And no matter what happens leading up to the big day, it’s all worth it when  you create beautiful photos like the ones showcased below!

Melissa of Melissa Lynn Hunt, monthly contributor to Seniorologie and High School Senior Photographer from Concord, North Carolina shares her experience from her 2015 Senior Spokesmodel Shoot.

This all started with a BIG idea in the Fall of 2013. Over time it evolved going through many changes with the help of my awesome photographer friends (including Leslie Kerrigan of Seniorologie), inspiration from magazines and pinterest, and the reality of what could and couldn’t be done.

The days leading up to this big shoot, my worst fears came true. The weather forecast was 70% chance of rain at the exact start time of our shoot.  My mind started to race. Can I reschedule? Can I get all of my models, volunteers, hair and makeup artists, videographer, and venue to agree on another date?  How could I even guarantee that the new date would be sunny and perfect?!

After much denial, the reality set in and I had to push forward.  Luckily I had learned my lesson from photo shoots in the past and booked a venue that gave me options if it were to rain.  That was a big sigh of relief for me.  However, so many of my visions included props and sunshine.  Let’s be honest, almost ALL of my visions.  I had to switch gears because it was likely to downpour and be cold!

The first thing I did was prayed. It’s true. I literally sat in my office chair and put it all into God’s hands. It was out of my control now and I trusted he would give me exactly what I needed. The second thing I did was run to Target and spend $250 on umbrella’s and rain coats.  I messaged all of my models and told them to bring rain boots if they had them.  We were gonna make lemonade with lemons folks! I started to dream up awesome ideas for photographing in the rain.  I scoured pinterest for a couple hours looking at rainy photo shoots.  I was ready to take on the rain!

On the day of the shoot, the weather forecast held up it’s end of the bargain.  We had dark stormy clouds, super cold temperatures, and rain! Lots of rain.  It was that annoying slow misty rain too. Of course!

I decided to take more of an editorial direction with the shoot. Photographing as if I were photographing for a magazine. I aimed for images that were clean, simple, and showcased my gorgeous 2015 High School Seniors.  I eliminated all of my prop ideas and kept my head held high!

After two hours of shooting, THE SUN.  The clouds parted and the sun came out! The craziest part of all this, it is exactly when I would’ve hoped for the sun.  Exactly.  I teared up, looked up at the sky, and said “Thank you!” I truly felt blessed in that moment.

I want you all to know that I was extremely upset when I had learned about the rainy forecast. It was as if my photography world was falling apart.  My original vision did not involve rain and muddy models. In fact the final product of this shoot was nowhere close to what my original vision was.  However I was able to accomplish exactly what I needed to.  I was able to capture beautiful images of each of my models.  I am now able to produce the necessary marketing materials for them use.  That is truly what I needed and I got that!

The biggest lesson I learned is to LET GO. I will remember this for every session in the future and I think it will save me.

At the end of the day I was giddy with excitement.  I felt that the shoot was a HUGE SUCCESS and although we freezed our buns off, we survived!

Check out this AWESOME video, by Iron Kite Films, that highlights our crazy day!

Melissa+Hunt+-+Senior+Styled+Shoot-HD from Melissa Hunt on Vimeo.

You can also view my model shoot magazine on Issuu here:

http://issuu.com/melissalynnhunt/docs/mlh_issuu