Malena Amaro Simply Irresistible | Our First Shoot
Malena Amaro Simply Irresistible | Our First Shoot Backstage
Malena Amaro Simply Irresistible is the name of our first photo set together, and I understand why it sounds so confident. I had only just met Malena Amaro, but being around her gave me the strange feeling that time had stopped.
Not literally, of course. My camera still had work to do. But you know that feeling when the rest of the day suddenly seems much less important? That was my first impression of Malena.
A first shoot is usually full of little questions for me. How will we work together? What will feel natural? Will I find myself thinking more about the photographs or about making a good first impression? I can be quite good at making those two things unnecessarily complicated. :)
With Malena, what stayed with me was much simpler. She has the presence of an angel, and I found myself wanting to pay attention rather than hurry on to the next picture. That is a lovely feeling to have behind a camera. It is also a little dangerous if you are the person responsible for remembering to take the photographs.
I think that is what made the title feel right to me. “Simply Irresistible” could sound like a grand promise, but the word *simply* is the important part. I did not need to build some elaborate idea around our first meeting. Malena was there, I was photographing her, and that quiet sense of being caught in the moment was enough.
Of course, I was still looking for photographs. I always am. But there is a difference between chasing a picture and giving yourself a moment to see the person in front of you. On a first shoot, I especially appreciate the chance to do the second one. You are getting to know someone while trying to make something beautiful together, and you cannot exactly ask the clock to pause while you figure it all out.
Although, with Malena, I was beginning to suspect the clock might cooperate.
That was my private little joke throughout the experience: perhaps I should check whether time was actually moving. It seemed like a reasonable question. When someone has that kind of effect on you, even a photographer can forget to think in frames for a second.
I loved that our first meeting left me with such a clear feeling. I had met someone new, photographed her for the first time, and come away remembering not a complicated plan but the pleasure of being there with her. For me, that is a wonderful beginning.
And if time really did stop for a moment, I hope I remembered to press the shutter.
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