Betty Lang Softly Wicked 1: Finding Our Rhythm
Betty Lang Softly Wicked 1: Finding Our Rhythm Backstage
Betty Lang Softly Wicked 1 began with a lovely little contradiction. It was our first shoot together, and Betty was excited to be there, but every so often she would freeze in front of my camera.
Not for long. Just enough for me to notice that my idea of a comfortable pace and hers were not quite the same yet.
First shoots can be funny like that. You are getting to know each other while also trying to make photographs together. I can adjust my camera as much as I like, but there is no setting for making someone feel instantly at ease. Believe me, I would have found it by now. :)
So I slowed down.
That sounds like a small decision, and I suppose it was. But from behind the camera, it changed what I was paying attention to. I stopped thinking about how quickly we could move through the set and gave Betty room to find her own rhythm.
When she froze, I didn't need to make a big moment out of it. Sometimes the most useful direction is a little patience. Sometimes it is making someone laugh.
I went with both.
There is something wonderfully disarming about laughter during a shoot. For a second, nobody has to worry about doing everything perfectly. I could feel myself relaxing too, which was only fair. Betty shouldn't have had to do all the work.
And then we could come back to the photographs. Slowly, without treating every pause like a problem to solve.
I liked seeing the difference that made. The excitement Betty brought to our first meeting was still there, but it no longer had to compete with the pressure of getting everything right straight away. She had time to relax into the set, and I had time to understand how best to photograph her.
That is one of the pleasures of being behind the camera. I might arrive with an idea of how a shoot will go, but the person in front of me always has a say in its pace. If I pay attention, that usually gives me a better idea than the one I started with.
Of course, my photographer's brain still wanted to be helpful. It has a habit of saying, just one more photograph, while my human brain is reminding it to let everyone breathe. On this occasion, the human brain had a point.
The title Softly Wicked 1 makes me smile now. There is a playful pull between those two words, soft and wicked, and I think taking our time suited it. Nothing needed to be forced. Betty could enjoy the shoot, I could enjoy photographing her, and the mood had space to develop between us.
By the end, what stayed with me wasn't that she had frozen a few times. It was how much warmer the shoot felt once we found a pace that worked for both of us.
For our first time working together, that felt like a lovely place to begin. And if I made Betty laugh along the way, I will happily take a little credit for that.
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