Here are a few of them:

• The psycholigical aspects of photoshoots (no.1 most voted)
• How Being alternative is something else than cosplay or playing dress-up (2nd most voted)
• The things people don't see when looking at models and photographers work (3rd most voted)
• Things you would like to photograph and maybe why? (4th most voted)
• When you ask someone "new" for a photoshoot, why that person and not someone else (5th most voted)
• Making fantasy pictures in non fantasy locations AND finding photoshoot locations (7th most voted with same amount of votes)
• When and why use flash and when and why not (8th most voted)

There were more but these had the most votes and will already be hell to cover all of them as it is.
So i will drop some extra photo's in this one to keep it more interesting.

Lesssssgoooooo.......

Right, the psychological aspect of photoshoots.....
Surely lots of people will expect me to just drop the basic story about how much of a positive effect a photoshoot can have, and how you can overcome insecurities, break all kinds of negativity, fight a low selfesteem and all that kind of garbage you are getting bombarded with by 1000's of instagram accounts claiming to be some sort of miracle workers.

Not totally dismissing these kinds of things, because Yes! A photoshoot can have a positive effect, it can help you grow as a person or teach you to love yourself better or more.
But Fuck Sake guys.... All i keep seeing is photographers trying to sell you a service by playing your mind, almost talking you into a complex or insecurities you probably even didn't have before reading their shit.

Again there are some truths to all this, but if someone is trying to sell you something by making you feel bad or insecure in the first place, is this really someone you want to let in to your life?? I sure as hell wouldn't!

Thats also a form of psychology, so a great start to this subject!

Which brings me to, i have many bags full of flipping the middle finger for everyone reading this who feels called out. Just saying....
One for you! One for you! A few extra for you! And a handfull for you, hiding in the back there!

But yes i also use psychology with some of my photoshoots and workshops. Why? Because it helps a model getting insight in for instance how they can trigger a real emotion they want to show in an image, or how certain movements will trigger a certain attitude they want to show in a picture.
Not make someone feel something negative while trying to sell them my miracle cure for that same negativity i just fed them.

Other than that i kind of go for a reverse psychology approach most of the time.
I read this topic a while ago on a phptography forum about photographers learning to control the entire photoshoot and determining the results of the photoshoot that way.
Isn't that the same as telling someone to shut up and do as you say?
If that is your thing, i'm not judging by any means, but you are doing a photoshoot, not a kinky play session, so keep it at that.

In my opinion a photoshoot is always creating something together, not a puppeteer handling a manequin.

Sure, if someone is completely new to posing or photoshoots i kind of have to give someone some tips or pointers, so controlling their motions.
But the goal is always to get someone to take control of their motions and feelings. That is exactly what i want to capture! 
Non forced real motion and emotion,

One of the reasons i use longer focal-lenghth lenses is not having to stand close to someone, especially when just starting the workshop or photoshoot.
And i exactly show someone why i do what i do.
Litterally showing the effect of standing close (within reason) and standing farther away.
Or the effect from standing higher than the model or leveling with them or standing lower. There is a lot of difference in that.
And one of the 2 presents the model with the feeling they are and can be in control. And i'm sure you can guess what does what....

I have mentioned this several times, but there is psychology involved in every human interaction, everything you do or say and how others react to that, not just in photoshoots but every aspect of life in general.

"Your attitude or confidence going in to the photoshoot determine the models confidence or attitude going out of the photoshoot"

You know the feeling when you want to say something, but can't find the right words or have to overexplain something because you can't find the right catchphrase?
I have that sometimes, but i heard someone say this a while ago and it pretty much wraps up a lot i would use much more words for.

"How you carry yourself"

Well yeah, How you carry yourself.... just read that again.

Picture this, you have never done a photoshoot at all, and you have never met me in person, but we decide to do a photoshoot.
You show up at my door, and the first thing you notice is me being extremely nervous, stuttering because i don't know what to say (not because i actually stutter, because that would be something i couldn't help) and constantly having struggles with my camera settings or lights.

Would that make you feel confident that this photoshoot is going to be a success? I guess not, and i actually bet it would have an effect on how you feel and 'perform' (see? can't find the word)

[DISCLAIMER} Before i will hear about this....
Because i know some will actually read this shit i write.
This is not how i work with the people i frequently work with at all. Why?
Because there is no need to apply any psychology. I know how to approach them, i know very well what i can and can't do, ask or say. And that works both ways.
I know for a fact with at least one or two i could litteraaly hold my lense a centimeter from the tip of their nose and it would not make them flinch or act differently. But imagine me doing exactly that with someone i haven't met before and has just been working with me for 5 minutes. I can practically guarantee you, these photo's will not look so great and you could feel what the model was feeling by just looking at that image.

However, i do believe it is much more important to find a photographer you trust, feel comfortable around, who elevates you, and does not have to perform some act or show to make you feel great (about yourself), instead of getting your hopes up because someone gets your attention with promises of a miracle cure like mentioned before.

So, yes. There actually is or can be a lot of psychology involved in photography.
And that does include it is very possible to get to see yourself in a different way, get a boost in confidence or just some killer images to savor or show the world.

But onwards to the second part, shall we?

It is kind of right up my alley, being alternative is different to cosplay or dress-up.
Yes, it is. Not saying dress-up or cosplay is not cool!

My main audience is ofcourse the alternative community, Omong this community also many cosplayers.
And you, who ever you are can dress any damn way you want. But what is kind of bothering me, and this happened a lot, people who message me about my work with compliments, and carry on to tell me, "i would love to dress up like a punk, or goth (or whatever you can think of) and do a photoshoot"
Like being part of an alternative (sub)culture is playing some sort of character from a cartoon. You see how offensive that actually is?

It's cool to try new or other things, like a totally different outfit to see how it looks. But putting something on does magically change your lifestyle. Get my point?

But let's not make an endless rant out of this for once....

The things people don't see when looking at models/photographers work....

Hopefully for the models and photographers that is having lots of fun while creating.

But i guess there are many things people don't see by looking at an image.
Be it the smount of dumb luck involved on getting a very cool shot, or the insane amount of time, work and preparation that went in to the shot.

And one of those things is location scouting, but more on that later.

In my case it differs. Some ideas involve a lot of planning, aquireing outfits and props, building decor, and trial and error with lighting.
But some of them are actually made up on ths spot with materials and outfits i already have. But even in those cases there are lots of things people don't see.
Because it's never just slap an outfit on, sit there and look pretty and i'll click the camera button a few times.

I never really plan my lighting. so that's kind of made up as we go.
I usually start with something basic that usually works fine, depending on how intricate the setup is. And adjust it from there to my liking.
I just think it's too easy to repeat the same over and over again and call it "My style" 
So i take a moment to think about what could work for the fist shot we have in mind while the model gets changed in the dressingroom.
Might sound silly, but i do enjoy that moment a lot. It's pretty much what triggers my photographer mode like a jumpstart.

And its always cool to see the model walk into the room with the outfit we or they selected. It's always kind of a surprise to see the complete look.
And thats another trigger moment because sometimes i immediatly think, ok.... never mind this light set-up, that is going to look like shit with this kind of dress or whatever they are wearing.

Talking possible adjustments to the look and lighting, because we both want the coolest possible results obviously.
Leading to test shots. Would not be an exception the test shot is actually on the money. And whatever messing around with lights or angles don't end up being better than the initial picture. But we try anyway.... Because thats fun. 
And there will always be the ever asked question, can we do better?

Either way, that one picture (or 2, 3, 4, whatever number) you get to see is what is being sepparated from a bigger batch of images, picking the best looking one(s)

And usually, we end up thinking up new possibilities for more pictures with one look/outfit as we go. Never mind big coherent moodboards, those just block your own creativity and you will probably want to end up with someone else's photo (the exact one from the moodboard).
It's cool to have a base idea. Let go of the rest and sort it out yourselves.
At least that is what i love to do.
And that is one of the parts people don't see when they see a post on social media.

All sounds nice right?
But the part you also don't see is the struggles. with light, with locations, with wardrobe malfunctions, or any other unplanned stuff.
And yes those happen! Even when we properly plan out an entire photoshoot. Thats part of the game.
You get to see the cool results, but sometimes getting them was a struggle, or it took more than one or two trips to a location because lets just say lady luck is not always on our good side.

Which leads me to saying, don't think you are the only one having bad luck, or taking a few shitty photo's here and there. Everyone does, most people just dont show them because with some persistance they got what they wanted.
And sometimes it's ok to say never mind this shot, the circumstances are not right and it will take too long to bend the circumstances or waiting for them to change.
There is no point in trying to do an ice sculpture in the bare desert at high noon, no matter how badly you want it.

And i feel very blessed with the people around me who know i will not go the extra mile for them, but 100 extra miles if needed, but also very well understand that sometimes something is not viable (at that specific moment, it doesnt mean will never happen).

What you don't see either is random improv because of not having the right equipment handy, or not having thought a small detail trough all too well.
Like taping a light under a cabinet with the last 10cm of duct tape, or building a diffusor out of a snoot (light shaper for a flash or lamp) and sticking a full roll of kitchen paper on it for diffusion.
Seriously, if my ass was not stuck to my backside i would have lost it ages ago. So sometimes i just can't find what i need and McGyver the fuck out of it. Dumb stuff you don;t see but has happened more than once.

Won't be the fist time we unconventionally use a skirt for a top or the other way around because we can't find the skirt we wanted on the mountain of stuff.

Sucks if that happens, but it also gives room to be extra creative and not throw in the towel because of a minor detail. And you can say, and that is why you prepare better!
I say, it's too easy if you just have to have a model come in, slap on an outfit, and use the same lighting you have used over and over again and get another 13 in a dozen image that looks exactly like the 500 other images you already have, just a different person in maybe a different costume. But hey, thats just me.
That's the stuff that gets me bored easily.

Image above, i had no clue on how to get the waterdrops the way i wanted, and how to light it even worse because of reflective glass.
But creating that was awesome. No tutorials or anything needed, just common sense and household materials.

Actually that day involved another shoot idea where we had to spray water in the air with a plant watering bottle. So i ended up covering half our livingroom in plastic sheets you usually use when you are oainting the house, making the place look like a csi crime scene,
Took me several hours to do, and was also something you did not get to see if you don't follow my instagram stories.

Result? Very Cool!
Work involved? A lot!

See? That's what you get to see.
But this was not as easy as having this stunning woman walking trough my front door and pressing a few camera buttons.
And surely you get the fact water and electricity aren't friends, so safety measures had to be taken so the lights stayed dry.

Not forgetting to mention how hard it is to squeeze a spray bottle for an hour or more.... Because this was one of those images that did not happen out of pure luck on the 1st try.

Concluding this with, to 99,9% of viewers it's just another (cool) picture, to those involved it's not just that but also an experience or a moment.

Moments you don't see or experience, you see and experience your own, and that;s why your own work will always mean more to yoy than it will mean to random viewers online.

Images like this one i have shared 1000 times over. Because it means the world to me.

Many things people don't see or will understand, and that's ok!

Leading in to the next subject.....
Image above, or at least that moment was one that made me realize i don't need all kinds of or 100 models. This is exactly what i want to shoot and who i wan't to shoot cool stuff with.

So, the question or topic was, when i ask someone "New" to do a photoshoot, why that person and not someone else?
And i hope i get this question right. If not let me know in case your read this!

So, i ask someone i have never worked with to do a photoshoot. Why did i choose to ask that specific person, instead of 1000's of others i could have asked? Thats what i am reading. and again. correct me if i am getting it wrong! (Will alter or add whatever needed)

Well, it does not happen a lot at all. For reasons meantioned just a few moments ago.
Most of the time it's someone who gets mentioned by a friend.
And don't read this as it being politics because friends of friends.
That's not the case. It still needs to make sense to me, or someone who could actually benefit from doing some photoshoot with me, and fit my style.
I don't want to sound stuck up or posh, but people who would wan't to shoot with me, is not a problem. I could not even do a simple 2 hour shoot with everyone who would like to, simply because there is no time to do so, even if i wanted to.
I come across people who's picture i absolutely would love to take nearly every day, Am i going to? No. 
Again, simply not possible.

So, in the odd chance i might ask someone to do a shoot it can be for a few reasons: 

* Not being a model, but me seeing or thinking someone would look or do great as a photoshoot model. (Thats quite a lot of people, so usually i just keep myself from contacting someone)
* Someone who i feel could gain benefits from doing a photoshoot.
* Someone gets introduced by a friend.
* Someone i know from random chats/talks that have never been about photoshoots.
* Someones style or aesthetic fits my style or a concept i have in mind but i don't know someone who would fit the image in my head

But usually its all just based on a feeling i get from someone's pictures or how they carry themselves. And that doesn't mean looking for people i would be personally attracted to.
They look cool, or have a cool style or whatever else.

So why that person instead of 1000's of others? Quite simple. to me that particular person was sticking out for one reson or another.
I love people who are easily to spot in a large crowd of 1000 of everyday (basic) people.
Can be for any reason, doesnt have to be a whole opposite style of clothing. Can be as simple as a smile.

 Anyway..... 1 in 1.000.000 i might ask someone to do a photoshoot,

Next up.... Taking fantasy pictures in non fantasy locations.....

I don't think there is a whole lot to it to be honest. You could take an amazing fantasy photo within 250 meters from your house most likely.

If the spot you are shooting in does not look very fantasy, its mostly about separating the model from the background,
In other words litterally have them stand far away from any background or shoot a very shallow depth of field (Wide open apperture like f1.8) and make the background look like one big blurry surface.
Even without editing in all kinds of special effects this could make your image look like a scene from a fantasy movie.

Use foreground elements!

Something as simple as some plants/leaves/flowers if that fits the theme or color pallette of your subject. That will not only distract from the probably horrible background, But if you make that blur out as mentioned above, it will still look like a fairytale image.

Just keep your eyes open for anything that could add to the fantasy vibe, even if its just colors in the background.

Not going to lie, this location pictured above is actually in the middle of a suburb, and an ugly looking mess.
If i would show you the actual spot, you would hardly believe its the spot we used for this photo.

Took the time to take a few photo's with my phone from the exact spot since that would add to this story.
You can see the houses on the left side on 2 images, and the fact there is litterally nothing there besides a few trees and tall weeds surrounding some water in the background.
The most random piece of nature in the middle of a suburb.

Not much to the editing besides changing the colors a bit, and removing 1 tree from the background. No added special effects, so even without much editing knowledge this would be quite easy to achieve.

In my case i used flash for this image because the sun was very bright and overexposing the background, and i did not have the time to wait for or plan this shot on a moment where the light would have worked in our favor.

This has nothing to do with gear, or being a wiz at editing, any basic camera with a kit lense would have been able to produce a comparable image, even without flash if you would have had te patience to wait for the sun to get blocked by clouds or would have been at the same spot at a later or earlier time of day.
And pulling a few sliders in lightroom to edit.

Fantasy says it all, use your imagination.
Find a spot and try to look at it in little pieces instead of a whole.

Yes, houses all around, but nobody will see them in the final image since you only photograph 5% of what your eyes are seeing at first. I'm not saying i am a skilled pro location finder, but i have tried to train my eyes and mind to see small parts that would work great for a photo, instead of seeing all kinds of things that won't fit the image we are chasing.
Works like a charm.

But hey, i get it! You want big dramatic sceneries and backgrounds! Not just a bunch of grass and trees.
Well, pictured location above is more my vibe too!
But it's not some huge castle ruin, In fact it'squite small and easy to overlook.
If i wanted the same image with some big castle in the background, i would have had to travel to a castle somewhere and incorporate it in my image.
(Or use photoshop)
To me it's kind of important to not use photoshop to change a photo drastically, and add stuff in the edit.
Or worse, use ai to generate whatever my head desires.
My opinion.... If you are going to edit with or without ai, half (lots of times even much more) of your image into something else, you might as well just not travel anywhere, and edit the rest too.
Just take a shot in your backyard or studio and replace eveything around the model while you are at it. Why even spend countless hours and resources to go to a location and change the whole (or half) thing?

Sure, removing some ugly or distracting elements, or change them in to something more fitting to the image. I would not love a modern trashcan in a medieval castle with someone in a knights armor as the main subject.
Or an open window that really distracts, and replace it for a piece of wall or anything less distracting.

But occasionally it will also happen you travel somewhere, and all of a sudden there are objects at a location you did not expect. Fences, a food stall, a sign or billboard, whatever you can think off. And editing is going to be needed if you can't avoid these objects being in frame.

I'm sorry, i am very much opposed to using ai since whatever ai can create can be done manually. Even if that means more work.

But how to actually find these gorgeous locations? What i find gorgeous you can see as ugly and the other way around, but that is not my point!

Lots of times i hear people asking photographers where this or that location is. And likely the photographer isn't going to tell you.
And you can start throwing the gatekeeping card if you want, That's fine...
But this is kind of what happens a lot. And i can understand why.

If i spend countless hours on finding a location, spend my time and money traveling there to scout it, and someone i have never spoken to in my life all of a sudden sends me a dm asking where that beautiful castle from my stories is located, i would probably not tell them either.
Because now all of a sudden i am interesting because i have something someone wants from me?

Finding locations is not done by magic but most of times it's done by hard work and getting dissapointed sometimes when you travel to the actual location.
Why would i have to do loads of work and hand it out to random trangers who could just spend the same amount of time and effort and figure it out themselves?

Google maps is handy. Or finding old maps and place them on top of a new one, because sometimes cool spots are hiding in areas that are currently a foresty area but used to be a big mansion that was visible on old maps or air photo's.

But what's not fun about finding one or two locations online and just travel there and take some detours along the way to spot cool structures or buildings that are not commonly known?
Sometimes you just have to be lucky and stumble across something very usable for a photoshoot.

It's not science, its doing work and spending time and effort. There is not much more to it actually.

The church pictured above was one we accidentally found because the location we had in mind was not available, and we were about to find a spot to eat. It was just there beside the parkinglot we stopped at for food.

And not gonna lie, that was a beautiful spot, it even had gorgeous light at that time of day.
Not planned but definitly the best shots of the day taken there.

Not the longest talk about a subject, but this is just how these things work.

A little earlier in this blog i mentioned using flash for a photo i took.
And one of the questions was, when to use or when not to use flash, and why?

Can be many reasons.
Flash can just be a style. Some people love images that are obviously taken with flash making the subject pop out of the image because the subject os overly lit compared to the rest of the image.
But can also be used in a way you could not tell if natural light was used or flash was used by perfectly balancing available light with flash.

To me its just about the feel i want in a picture, ór whenever the sun is so bright it will leave blown out highlights in my images.
There is no real guideline on when and when not. It's very situation based.
For studio work i use flash 90% of the time and constant light the other 10%.
And the odd time there is a nice natural windowlight available i will use that as my main light.
To me creating light is just something i started liking. Not much more to it in all honesty.

When outdoors i don't mind using natural/available light. Unless it is creating horrible hars shadows and highlights. In that case i use flash to fill in those harsh shadows.

But again, there is no real set guideline. I really just do something that feels right. Thats really all there is to it.
And that probably just came from experience and making mistakes and horrible pictures along the way.

Taking things to the last question....

What would i like to photograph, and why?
Well, who is easier. One of them is young lady pictured above, and young ladies scattered across these blog posts i write.

What is subject to change. If i see something cool and inspirational i might just want to shoot it.
However, there are a couple of things i would like to still shoot,

And you might think, yeah but you already have the perfect model for it in your social circle. But some ideas, i actually dropped because of this, would require someone without tattoos, or so small they would be easy to remove in photoshop (and someone being ok with that), or wild colorful hair, or a certain type of physical appearance, etc. etc. 

Maybe i'll just see who actually reads this shit i write, and post a few collages with examples (moodboards) in my stories on instagram and not explain why they are there.
And let people who actually read this and would be interested in doing that particular photoshoot be able to message me about it (AND tell me they actually read it here) and see if we can plan that.
At least that will be people not just interested when i post a random modelcall but actually take interest in what i do and why.
Sound like a plan?
Will drop that an hour or so after i posted the link to this blog post in my stories.

Long story again..... But hey, many questions to answer.

Have a wonderful day!