Birthday Photoshoot in Jamaica
The First Ten Minutes Are Always the Hardest
Here's something I tell every client: the first outfit, the first look, the first five to ten minutes of any portrait session - those are going to be the hardest. Not because something's wrong. Because trust takes time, and we've just met. You've seen my work. You got a recommendation but we don’t know each other.
I met Michka at Bob Marley Beach - She'd never done a shoot before. We talked first, that’s the first step. How are you? What are you passionate about? Why are you doing this shoot? Conversation you have when you're just getting to know someone.
Michka was still finding her footing when we started. A little unsure. A little in her head. That's fine. That's normal. What I was watching for was the moment that changed.
We moved through the first few frames. I showed her what I was seeing on the back of the camera - not to critique, but to include her. Somewhere in that back and forth, the tension started to leave her face. This is a process and I want you to be as involved in it as you can - successs for you is success for me.
The Shot I Couldn't Have Planned
At some point I said: just run. Run along the beach and look back towards me. You're on vacation. You're living your best life.
She ran.
The image that came out of that moment - I couldn't have directed that in a studio in ten years of trying. No pose, no direction, no reference image gets you there. It was just Michka. Fully herself. Not performing anything. Completely forgetting, for a second, that she was being photographed.
That's what I'm always chasing. Not the perfect angle. Not the perfect light. The moment someone stops performing and starts just being.
What I Watch For When I Show Clients Their Photos
When she saw the images, I watched her face before she said a word.
The worry dissolved first. Then she went quiet - a different kind of quiet. Then something came out of her mouth, and honestly, I don't remember exactly what it was. I never really do. It's the expression that stays with me. The look of someone seeing themselves the way other people see them. Sometimes that's the first time that's ever happened.
Michka left that day with photos she hadn't known she could take. First shoot. Bob Marley Beach.
Why a Photograph Is Worth More Than You Think
I have a page called @justsouthy - just my own life, documented. I look back at that feed now and I love it.
A photograph captures a moment you can't get back. It doesn't matter if you were happy or anxious or half-ready on the day. Hindsight changes everything. Once you're removed from it - a week later, a year later, ten years later - you see the beauty in it and that image carries you straight back.
You Don't Need an Occasion
Birthday photoshoots in Jamaica are one of the things I love most. Not because of the occasion - because of what happens when someone decides, that they're worth documenting. Not for a wedding. Not for a brand. Just for themselves.
You don't need to be ready. You don't need to know how to pose. You just need to show up and let someone pay attention.
