10 TIPS: Being creative during COVID-19
I’ve been trying to think about how I can help others during this time of social distancing and self-quarantine and now a NATIONAL CURFEW (yikes!). This year has felt surreal and in my lifetime I've never experienced anything on this level. It’s affecting everyone especially from an economic standpoint. As an entrepreneur in a creative field, it is already challenging keeping one's income steady but I wanted to turn the negative into a positive. I posted a status on my personal Facebook page a few days ago and got a surprising amount of feedback. Here’s what I said;
“This is the perfect time to collaborate! Update websites. Plan new projects.”
After I posted the status, many people asked me for tips on how they could use the time to better their businesses and being someone who feeds off knowledge, I knew whatever education I had would help. Here are 10 tips to combat this time at home…
MAX OUT. It’s like you’re in school all over again, schedule your day from waking up to sleep. Don't forget to throw in meal times, short breaks (for your eyes) and recreational time as well i.e. fitness, family time, time with a spouse.
ONLINE MEETUPS. You don't need to physically meet in person to get work done. There are tons of methods that allow you to meet face to face with potential or existing clients, colleagues and team members. Apps like FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype and Zoom all make it possible to have productive meetings.
ONLINE BANKING. If you’re living in 2020 then you must know about the world of amazing online banking. Most banks offer this feature now and businesses can accept and transfer money without leaving home! Clients can pay you wit ease especially if you both share the same bank and I believe some banks will let you transfer funds from your account to another account from a different bank.
BRUSH UP OR LEARN NEW SKILLS. I’ve bought a ton of online courses from photographers whose work I admire and I watch them, mostly at night when the house is asleep and it gives me a chance to brush up skills that I lack in. This applies to anyone in any field. My excitement levels only rise because I'm eager to apply them to my work.
BRAND REFRESH. Are you not happy with your logo, website, branding materials like business cards, contracts or social media posts? Call on a skillful friend who can help you freshen things up or take on the task of teaching yourself. This isn't an overnight process if you're a perfectionist like me so it'll take a few weeks to freshen things up. Then when work resumes back to normal, you’ll have a cleaner, healthier brand to display.
EXERCISE. I mentioned this earlier in the discussion but find 30mins to an hour to get in some physical activity. A quick jog, jump rope, plyometric movements can all be done inside or in the backyard. You will release endorphins into the body, boost the immune system and just feel good once you’re done. Since most gyms have closed and training sessions have ceased, this is still no excuse to not workout at home. There are also apps (mostly paid) where you can download workouts at home. Like my trainer friend KJ says “Y'all know the mission…HARD WORK!”
PLAN YOUR NEXT PROJECT. With planning comes inspiration. Usually, I see something that sparks my interest and I want to shoot something based on how it makes me feel. For that reason, it’s why I am addicted to PINTEREST. I spend hours a day looking through images I love. I plan my shoots and I build mood boards on Pinterest using images that I come across.
REASSURE CLIENTS. By now most clients have either postponed or canceled work altogether. Call or email them letting them know that you understand the seriousness of COVID-19 and reassure them that if they still want to do work, that it comes with taking certain precautions in place. As a photographer, that’s no more than 10 people on set including the client. Reschedule them to a time when officials say and let them know you’re still very much interested in working with them.
STAY HYDRATED. Just because this is as important as anything else. Am I the only one who, once in a creative zone shuts the outside world out? I have to remind myself of the basic necessities my body needs to function like drinking water and eating good food.
STAY POSITIVE. The mind attracts that which your own thoughts project.
Fitness Shoot Branding (BTS)
We postponed this shoot nearly 5 times before we finally got everything lined up to shoot fitness trainer and lifestyle brand Latoya Moxey. Latoya called me months before to ask me if I'd be interested in helping her create her new fitness brand and before she could finish asking I eagerly agreed. I love shooting lifestyle and fitness was always something I was interested in so it was a win-win for me looking at the bigger picture.
Before shooting we met up to go over outfits at her home and Latoya must have brought out a million and one pieces of fitness apparel, in every color and shade with athletic shoes to match. I found myself surrounded by nothing short of a sporting brand factory store and we quickly narrowed down several options that would give our shoot a palette of diverse styles. Old Fort Bay was our locale of choice as it provided many different scenic areas for backdrops. I’d shot here a handful of times so I was no stranger to the property and I felt, at first, Id be challenged trying to find unique spaces for Latoya but the team and I worked through to find some incredible spot to compliment our subjects look and styling.
We shot throughout the day, capturing lifestyle poses as well as some using motion and exercise. I shot all-natural light with my Nikon D750 and a Sigma 85mm f1.4 lens and the lighting all around the property was buttery smooth and hit all the right angles creating light flares and hazes that one just couldn't create in post. (I mean you could but it looks so much better when It's natural)
Overall, I enjoyed working on these images, more so because I chose a very minimal setup, I used a diffuser to block the subject from too much light and a reflector to help fill in darker areas of her face and body. In most cases, I found that shooting wide open (f1.4 - f2.8) would prove to be too intense but shooting at smaller apertures (f3.5 - f4) helped me maintain sharpness on the subject and keep some blur on the backgrounds. Please enjoy the images below and be sure to watch the BTS video!!
Styling + Photography: Scharad Lightbourne
Hair: Skyline Designs
MUA: LooksbyChar
Grips: Catina Ferguson + Rayandra Nairn
Tony & Geena: An Engagement Session
I was just as elated as the rest of you when I happened to scroll social media and saw a video Geena had posted where Tony planned a surprise engagement for her. Tony and I worked together several times and I the same with Geena as she modeled for a few of the brands that I have worked with. I was excited for these two. So much that I called a meeting with them both and talked about gifting them with an engagement session.
In our meeting, I laid out my points for what I wanted to capture. I told them exactly what I felt based on their personalities. With Tony being the quiet, shy and subdued individual while Geena being the social, outspoken and expressive member of the bunch, I had the notion to shoot two looks. One of them being a more chill, homely and casual look, fitting Tony’s speed while the other being more fashion-based which would fit Geena’s personality perfectly. In the meeting, the couple laughed over and over as I hit all my points like a hammer to a nail.
I told Tony that he’d have to dress up because if you know Mr. Williams, a pair of dark shorts, a t-shirt and some tennis shoes are his life. This only made Geena excited because she expressed getting her now fiance´ to dress up was always a challenge. Tony agreed and the planning began.
With the help of Realtor Phillipa Newton of C.A. Christie, we found the perfect home to which would serve as the backdrop for their e-session. TONS of natural light flowed through the home and using my mirrorless Z6, I was able to focus more on creating my shots allowing me more time to manipulate, highlight and create a mood to the photos that simply worked. I used a reflector to help me fill in the dark areas, high ISO to let in tons of light and as I directed the two I felt like it was easy because I’d known and worked with them for some time so it was familiar to both parties.
I hope you enjoy the images.
Clients: Tony Williams + Geena Thompson
Photographed + Styled by: Scharad Lightbourne
MUA: Alexandria Miller
Grips: Dayna Pratt
Set Asst: Caneasha Carrol
Abandoned resort E-Session!
If you saw this location prior to me shooting there, I’m almost certain you would have looked at me sideways especially if I said I was going to photograph an engagement session there! This now abandoned resort appeared to be a far cry from its former glory days. The dilapidated and abandoned facilities were now hurricane damaged and now occupied by overgrown weeds, vines and trees.
Now I’d photographed Elena before and we always kept in touch and when she approached me about shooting her engagement session I was excited about doing the honour. She became more excited by convincing me that she wanted to do the shoot on a certain property, one she had sent me photos prior to. At first it did raise a few eyebrows especially after seeing these images but I embraced the challenge and I accepted.
“This shoot was incredibly special for us because of our connection to the location and our story as a couple. We have shared 8 beautiful years together and recently purchased our first home in this area 2 years ago... so we thought, what better place to shoot than in our backyard, the place we spent the most time together! ”
I wanted to show you the images Elena sent to me…
I decided that I’d want to shoot closer to sunset because the resort faced the ocean on the western side of the island where the sunsets were typically the most dramatic. More so, I hoped to get good golden hour light for lifestyle imagery. Styling wasn’t an issue either. Elena was a little bit of a hippie so she told me she wanted a “boho chic” look which I agreed with. Hank, on the other hand, would need more convincing. He’s very laid back and doesn’t like cameras or the limelight so getting him to “dress up for photos” became a running joke between Elena and I. Hank eagerly fell in line with the plan.
“Who knew Scharad could turn my man into a model in these photos!.... I was low key jealous when I saw how amazing he came out in them!”
The shoot went even better than we initially planned. Elena’s close friend and MUA Erica Bogart had flown in from Miami that same day and jumped right into makeup upon arrival. She was fast too! I brought along my Nikon D850, 2 lenses, the 85mm f1.8 and the 24-70 f2.8 and B1 light from Profoto to mix both the artificial and ambient light together and it worked out great. At first, I shot the couple in natural light but as the sun set in our blue skies, I brought out the strobe to balance the strobe light with my ambient light.
Hank and Elena’s chemistry was great. I barely gave them any direction.
Elena prior to the photoshoot told me,
“We just want to be ourselves and not overthink how we should pose or interact,” to which I happily obliged because this was particularly my preferred method of capturing these types of themes.
I can't stress enough how beautiful the light was and frame after frame my team and I salivated and got weak in the knees at how the light worked so well with us to create the photos.
Please enjoy the couple’s gallery below.
“Shooting with Scharad and his team was amazing. They were patient, creative and beyond talented.They captured our personalities with ease and caught that sunlight at such perfection that it felt surreal”
I shot my first fragrance campaign!
There aren't any words that can express how excited I was when I got the call from Bahari.
“A fragrance?? I asked?
“You need an ad campaign?” I asked?
I was over the moon because ever since I became a full-time photographer I would drool over magazine ads displaying different fragrances and colognes and I would marvel at how awesome the photography was. So, to now have an opportunity to photograph my own was mind-blowing. I was happy that Bahari was continuing to push the envelope and produce more incredible products for fans of the brand.
With two incredible models as part of my arsenal, the team and I created images against a romantic and irresistible background. The lighting was perfect, hair and makeup were on point and the team, as always, worked seamlessly to get the job done. What was even better was the chemistry between our models. They were uber professional but followed direction to the letter. This was obviously not their first time working together and by jumping from frame to frame, that very same chemistry carried over every time.
I styled, photographed and directed both the still images and video needed for this campaign. Something I’m trying to do more of. Please enjoy.
WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO
(and be sure to subscribe to my page for more behind the scenes)
Keith Hinsey photographed in "Under Armour" inspired campaign at The National Stadium
I love branding and as a commercial and advertising photographer, I get to photograph commercial images for many brands from investment firms to lifestyle bloggers to fitness trainers. Keith “KJ” Hinsey is a very close friend of mine who happens to train me and in his evolution as a world-class trainer, his brand is growing every day. Keith, being the supportive friend that he is consulted with me to help him build a new website and images to match.
Keith is a huge fan and follower of the Under Armour brand and knowing this I immediately researched the UA brand and what their approach to imagery looked like. I studied the brand for months and KJ and I would watch youtube videos and pin images on Pinterest because this was going to be the direction for him and the Physique Total Fitness brand.
I advised Keith on styling, getting a few extra fitness articles of clothing, props, athletic shoes and lastly the location…
I knew the National Stadium was the only place I would want to shoot this campaign. I didn't want the conventional gym or studio as a backdrop. The only challenge would be getting permission to do so. However, after calling someone who knew someone who knew the General Manager, the National Sports Authority eagerly agreed and assisted in giving me full access to the stadium and its grounds.
There was one more piece of the puzzle that I needed to make this campaign extra special and that was a cinematic promotional video. I came across Jiggy Productions some time ago and I had a sit down with cinematographer Kyle Ferguson to help me communicate the concept through moving visuals. Kyle was excited and really wanted to get his creative teeth into such a project.
Shooting was great, we ran KJ though a multitude of routines, reps and active poses. Calling on his expertise as a trainer and using some of his own training equipment to assist us. We even added one of his clients, Kristen to a few frames to show him training an actual client. Look…I could talk about this shoot for hours but I filmed a video to show you guys just how I setup shoots like these.