Where do I start?

You're all fired up, motivated and can't wait to start working towards your big shoot. The only problem is you don't know where to start.

What is the image you want to achieve? Sometimes the image will be crystal clear in your mind. Often it's just a vague concept waiting for you to fill in the details.

Start by writing down a basic outline. For example the basic idea for the image above was "a young woman lying on a couch holding a baby, with guns etc on a table next to her."

I knew I wanted the image to be a fairly high contrast black and white. Which meant that I needed things that were reflective and would pick up the light. This influences both my choice of model and props.

A blonde model in light coloured clothing would be much easier to back light than a brunette or red-head in dark clothing.

Silver guns would reflect the light and therefore be easy to see in the image than black or matt grey.

I choose the small lacquered coffee table for its shiny surface. Already elements of the image were starting to fall into place.

The lighting is a very important part of this image. It took a while to get the lighting that felt right and this is often the hardest part of the image to visualize.

I'm always happy to try different lighting; I find the more I play around and learn, the more instinctive my lighting becomes.

Not that I get it right first time every time. Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much. But that's okay too. Creating the image is the goal I'm working towards but I want to have fun along the way too.

Hopefully this will help you find somewhere to start. Please feel free to drop me a line with any feedback or comments. :)