Lighting my own fire

I've been kind of bored with my own work lately.

It was feeling stale.

It was feeling "same-old-same-old."

But last month a client asked me to shoot something a little bit different for her and I was forced to push myself to do something I've never tried before -- studio lighting. (Dun dun duuuun!)

Now, I'm a natural light shooter. I am happiest shooting outside. And if I can't shoot outside, give me a window, any window, and I'll give you at least one dreamy photo you'll love.

But for this particular client, I was forced to work inside, in an interior room, with no windows, no natural light. Sooo...

First I put on my big girl pants and put aside my fear of the unknown. Then, while still wearing said pants, I drove to my local photography store, got a crash course in studio lighting from the experts there, and rented a reeeally expensive strobe kit.

And next, well, I gave it a shot. (Pun intended.)

It was very hard. Like, super hard. I was *totally* out of my comfort zone. And I had to look at and do things in a completely new and unexpected ways.

While I only scratched the surface of how to use studio lighting correctly - or artfully for that matter - I was able to pull off a few interesting images, and in the process, pull myself out of my creative rut.

Did I love working with studio light? Um, no. Will I try it again? Probably. Because I want to be better at all things photography and I love a good challenge.

And I do love these photos.

So thank you for that, Mr. Strobe. Thank you.

I am part of an amazing group of photographers who blog together monthly under the name 30 Mintues in the Life. Please follow the circle of these talented ladies starting here with Sonia Epple Fotografie