The Best of Both Worlds, Pt. 3

Here’s the link to the images: 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7MlCEoEDaftZFhxRWpyaWg1Qkk

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

You wanted it, you’ve got it! By very special request, I finally was able to work out a schedule to shoot your favorite models Erika and Jenna TOGETHER!

I’ve had so many vocal subscribers request a shoot with Jenna and Erika together, but since all three of us are all so busy, it has been difficult to schedule. Erika works two jobs, Jenna works and is a fulltime mom, and I have a day job and several freelance gigs constantly. But finally, on a lazy Thursday afternoon, I left my crappy corporate office job an hour early and went to go pick up these ladies.

They only live a few blocks from each other and grew up knowing all the same people, yet had never officially met. Due to their experiences shooting with me, they had an even greater connection, and now were finally able to meet in person. “I love your daughter’s pics,” Erika professed right away, confessing that she perused Jenna’s personal Instagram account religiously. Jenna countered with how jealous she was of Erika’s body, saying she constantly worked out to achieve the kind of body Erika comes by naturally.

The conversation in my small pick-up truck, with Erika in the back and Jenna in the passenger seat, quickly became a love fest, with each of them disparaging themselves and praising the other person. I’ll never fully understand why women, especially younger women, do this, or rather, I do understand it, but I’ll never go along with it. They chatted about their long-term boyfriends, who each other had known very well in school, and shared anecdotes about almost meeting each other in the past but never having it happen for one reason or another.

When we finally made it to our destination, on the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, they were already close friends, comparing notes on other local photographers, making me blush as they said no one was better to work with than me. Seeing as how they both are considered practically family to me at this point, I made the case that they were extremely biased, but I still graciously accepted the compliment.

They took turns in front of the camera solo, posing amidst the last of the California Super Bloom of mustard flowers. After an hour of this, I finally led them to the edge of the cliff, which neither of them had seen before. They were stunned, which seemed odd since they had grown up around similar locations in the area, but I didn’t call them on their amazement.

Before we got serious, Jenna spied a lizard living in a rock and drew Erika’s attention to it. Erika, clearly braver than Jenna, went right up to the hole and tried to coax it out, though they both spent several minutes talking to it and admiring its tones.

Both ladies changed into almost matching grey bodysuits and I had them stand as close to the edge as they could handle. Both were more than a little nervous walking out near the ledge, but I kept encouraging them that if I could do it, they could also.

I’ve never been great at shooting two models at once. I find my work lends itself to being intimate, customized to the individual in front of me. So having two women in front of my camera at once has always felt like an awkward betrayal, like I was cheating on one model in front of the other. I know, it sounds silly, but that’s how I’ve figured out my brain works.

At first, they were both uncertain of how to move, so I directed them to lean on each other. “Get close, don’t be afraid of each other,” I directed. But still, they seemed nervous and unsure of themselves. Finally I advised them to give each other a hug. I had learned this technique years before when shooting a man and woman for a fake “couple” shoot and had almost forgotten about it. And sure enough, after the hug, the ladies relaxed.

I shot them standing against a rock looking out at the ocean for a long while, and finally had them sit. I walked along the edge to the other side of them and continued to direct them to lean on each other, to look in different directions, etc. We only shot for a few minutes longer before I called it quits. Maybe it was the end of a long day for both of them, or maybe I just wasn’t doing a good job, but I figured since neither of them felt comfortable showing more skin, we had about all we were going to get.

I’m not sure if this is exactly what the people who made this special request wanted, but for what the ladies could handle, it was the best I could do.

What are your thoughts? Do you like this pairing? Would you like to see others? Let me know by leaving comments in the box below or in my DMs! And thank you as always for continued to support small town photographers like myself!!

Here’s that link again: 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7MlCEoEDaftZFhxRWpyaWg1Qkk