My first Virtual Photo Session from Alabama of Margaux and Her kids in Rhode Island
/The Kintsugi Chronicles is a project I have been dreaming of executing for YEARS. Initially, I had the idea that I would visit Ehlers-Danlos Support groups in my van around the country. While there, I may speak or present some of the intimate photography I had already taken and have a few people in mind to shoot their reality in their homes. Well, traveling is now very hard for me. So is using a regular camera. So hard, in fact, that I have practically closed the doors on my former photography business and only take photos with my camera in short intervals when the conditions are right- usually of friends or out in nature.
When I realized I could utilize this new form of technology (thank you CLOS app!) to take photos again, I was thrilled and overwhelmed. During a pretty awful pain episode, I try to let my mind wonder into creative solutions for the things I want to do and bring into this world..from where I am at.
So, I am mulling through all of this, wondering if it COULD still be possible for this project to make headway. It’s needed. I need the community it will bring, and we all need to see and hear the resilient and healing stories of people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Each is unique and different, and each person I meet with this same condition I have blows me away with their tenacity, tenderness and strength.
I had been taking a marketing course (which was WONDERFUL, and also very hard.. because I have physically been unable to truly work in a very long time. But, the course (Naked Marketing), allowed me to connect with beautiful people AND really flesh out my vision of what I want to do with my life and how I’m going to do it. (patience meghan, patience). A beautiful human named Kellie was apart of this course, and she had started taking BEAUTIFUL photos virtually during the pandemic. I was blown away with what she was able to execute through her phone’s camera and her subject’s phone’s camera. I reached out to Kelli, and she was kind enough to guide me through her process. It was a bit daunting at first, especially since my eyes cannot look at screens for any extended period of time. Would I be able to safely do this?
The process is a bit more complicated and requires a lot more direction than I had initially thought. It takes a lot of improvisation, because you are only given what the person holding the other phone shows you. You aren’t able to walk around their home and check out the light and the settings, you work with what your given. Not only that, but you are actively coaching the individual holding the camera (or where the subject needs to place their camera) WHILE also directing and interacting with the subject. Since depth of field is very different, you also create different scenarios where depth is created, instead of just changing up your aperture. It is a true creative collaboration, and a lot more fun than I had expected.
It was obvious that I needed practice with this new art form. So, I put a call out for free shoots on my instagram stories, and Margaux was the first to respond. She said she’d been a huge fan of my photos since before I lived in Savannah (wow), and would be honored to play guinea pig with me as I learned how to set these sessions up. As my health has been HIGHLY ERRATIC and unpredictable for the past 4 years, often changing hour by hour, we set a proposed day. That day totally flopped on my end, and she was gracious and kind. Then, the following day I had about an hour of time where I knew I would be able to look at the screen, interact and have some fun. She was ready to go within 15 minutes! She was visiting her mom and dad with her kids during a snow storm, so her mom had control over the camera. It’s so interesting and fun teaching someone how to take a photo and look for light on the fly. Well, I guess I was the one taking the photos and looking for light, and she was following my directions for composition. Everything went so much smoother than I could have imagined, and we all had a really great time.
I think, as I work these into a service offering, I will create a little tutorial and examples of how to look for good light, how to compose a photograph and how to create rhythm and movement with items around the house.. and of course lots of ideas on locations and clothing. Initially, I did not look at this new avenue as a way to take family photos or portraits, but after shooting several sessions, I LOVE IT! Not only do I love it, but everyone who has interacted with this new mechanism has loved how easy it feels, how fun it is, and how “natural” them and their kids are without the pressure of a stranger amongst them holding a camera. It’s actually really really beautiful.
From Margaux
“ I wasn’t sure what to expect from a virtual photo session via phones- would the look like phone photos? would i b able to hear Meghan give direction? Would I have to hold the phone or make it stand up? Meghan answered all of those questions before our session and we had such a great time. She has that special photographer’s eye for light and shapes and spaces, and we ended up with some of the coolest photos that I will cherish forever. I would do this again in a heartbeat!
