My friend and amazing costume designer Meagan Kruenegel came to the studio with her fabulous steampunk costume, and we did a shoot!

We started the shoot with no clear end shot in mind, just the idea of capturing a cool steampunk themed portrait, and I knew I wanted to shoot some fun and dramatic lighting.

You get to see the full shoot from start to finish, including all my mistakes as I work through the shoot and how we work together to create a fantastic portrait.

When going into a photoshoot it’s usually a good idea to have some idea or goal that you are going to try to create in your photo. This is good because it gives you a goal to work towards. As you go through the shoot, you might find that you don’t end up where you expected, but the goal helps to get you there.

It’s also good to sometimes go into a shoot with no real idea of what you’re going to create. It’s a good creative challenge because it forces you to create and adapt as the shoot develops, refining the idea as you form it.

The bottom line of course is that there is no right or wrong way to approach a photoshoot as long as you’re able to accomplish the goal of creating a portrait that you’re happy with. I like shooting both ways because each way presents it’s own challenges to help me continue to grow as a photographer.