The Perfect Picture - Panic and stress

After a very nice conversation with Lotte from ITV, I was asked if I could put the tips on paper and send some nice current photos from the shoot.

This was immediately a moment of panic, because I give a lot of workshops. But during the workshops I never take photos myself because I obviously spend 100% of the time coaching you and ensuring that you come home with great photos.

After some searching I found 3 powder photos from years ago. Now is this what I want to show?

The morning after the phone call I started arranging models. Call, text and..... hit the mark.

I was the first to have Petra Brummelkamp as a model. She always does this very cool and is my support and source at Het Perfecte Bedrijfsplaatje and regularly as a model. I immediately think of a great photo of her in a wedding dress during a Light Tube Workshop in Amsterdam.

How cool would a photo be in this wedding dress with XPlode color powder?

Sometimes you have to be a little lucky, Petra immediately jumped in the car for a shoot that same afternoon.

A number of Golden Hour Members were there for the walk-in and I had an important announcement: "You are not photographers today, but we are switching roles, this time you are the coaches and I am the photographer".

Then a text came in. Two great dancers, Gioya Gopie and Danique Kuiper were available on Saturday, late afternoon. Absolutely great, because I had a workshop in the studio that Saturday, so it was really stressful.

But first let's get started with Petra. We will work together as a team. And even though I know I can take good photos and work well under pressure, I still feel some tension. It really has to happen.

Time pressure is of course also the common thread in Het Perfecte Plaatje and I know what tension can do to you. Many people block, creativity is locked down and beautiful photos often become an impossible task.

I immediately manage to turn my mindset around: "You're just going to do this, get some rest, keep looking and thinking and enjoy the process," I tell myself. The switch turns, Hammertime.

We try various poses, various colors and various methods of throwing the powder. And soon we'll get it. I take several photos and immediately see that I have the photo I want:

High fives follow, this record stands. A good basis to continue blasting away at the end of the afternoon on Saturday.

The workshop on Saturday is going well and I am happy that you always give me so much energy during the workshop. Because starting an important shoot exhausted is of course not really ideal.

Gioya and Danique come in enthusiastically and we start going through various jumps and movements. We use examples to discuss what is and is not possible.

Athletes and dancers know very well what they can do with their bodies and pay close attention to details such as the position of the feet and hands. In addition, they can make very explosive movements, ideal of course for an XPlode color powder shoot.

We immediately get started and choose suitable colors. The girls bring various sets of clothes. Soon the powder flies throughout the studio and the energy and cheerfulness radiates from the girls.

How wonderful to work with them. They also coach and correct each other with the poses and movements and see much more than I do. Wrong foot, strange hand, not stretched enough....

Time and time again we look at the camera with satisfaction... bang... another good one.

I also really look for the right light, direction is so important to make the photo really shine. Boring light is absolutely unacceptable for these shoots.

And timing is of course essential. The interaction with the model, the communication, if this goes well, this will save more than half.

After the shoot, high fives and big smiles again. The girls don't look like this:

But the result is great and I am very happy. Hopefully the photos are also enough to convince Wiliam Rutte, Cynthia Boll and the production of Het Perfecte Plaatje.