With the Lockdown restrictions for this kind of photoshoot over, it was SO lovely to be out again. The model was a local dancer, Kelsea, who needed new photos for her social media channels. With a drab, overcast, colourless sunrise… what could I come up with?

We met up at 6am at the bandstand in Youngs Park, Goodrington. I already knew there wouldn’t be a sunrise but that didn’t stop me. I have my own lights and I wanted to create my own unique look and feel for the shoot. Kelsea wanted photos wearing a tutu and another white outfit.

Kelsea was bang on time and kept warm with a dressing gown and coat. It’s that time of year when you’re never quite sure how much clothing you need to bring. It was a 6c pre-sunrise. Cold enough to make me feel sorry for what Kelsea was going to be wearing for her shots 🙂

I always explain that the lighting takes a little while to set-up, usually around 10 minutes, but that 10 minutes is ALWAYS worth the effort. Kelsea kept wrapped up while I set-up and then I’d take a quick burst of shots before letting Kelsea wrap up again.

We started at the bandstand and took shots with my 20mm, 24-70mm, 85mm and 70-200mm lenses. Once I get the shots I know I want, at the focal length I want, I like to try other focal lengths and experiment with the light. Talking of which, as it was just before sunrise I only needed the power of my Godox V1 as a rim light, plus my Godox AD200 for the main light.

Once we moved to the Spanish Barn, my lighting changed up a level to really help make the colours of the building pop. I had the Godox V1 with an orange gel for the rim light, a Godox AD200 with a blue gel as the backlight and my Godox AD600 Pro for the main light.

My second wedding photographer Ben joined us, all very socially distanced as the behind the scenes photo shows. As I was using long focal lengths for most of the shots, it meant I could keep really far back from Kelsea.

If you’d like your own shoot and you like my style of photos, why not check out my portrait photography page or event photography page for more examples. You can phone/text/whatsapp me on 07828 467 753 or email simondayuk@gmail.com.