“Great! But you know I don’t typically do commercial work right?”
That’s exactly what I thought when I got the call from the laser industry leader, Cynosure [owner of Pelleve], wanting to book me for a national beauty campaign. Sure, I have chosen to do selective commercial work but I don’t run or operate a full-sized commercial studio. I focus on runway, boudoir, portraits and products for designers [which are often photographed on set somewhere outside of the studio]. Because of that, I downgraded my space a few years ago.
Well, the lead graphics guy was AMAZING.
He understood how I worked and turns out he hired me because he could tell that my work was exactly what they were looking for. And thankfully, when he send over samples of what they wanted to accomplish, I thought “…this is right up my alley.” He actually does his job very well and knew that I was the right person for the job.
However, my studio at the time was more an office than a studio. It had two rooms, a small changing area and kitchenette [which was used mostly for storage]. I explained to him that I had a small space and he didn’t seem concerned…until he arrived that is. I don’t think he realised just how small it was! The shoot space was fine but they also had a 6 person team show up, not including hair/makeup or model, wardrobe and treatment bed. I had two options. I could freak out or I could embrace it.
Instead of freaking out about space, I opted to embrace it.
I realised that I can give them the one thing a large commercial studio can’t…a feeling of home. A cosy, intimate space to work from where they were all welcomed in such personal ways. Prior to the shoot, I contacted the receptionist at Cynosure and found out who exactly was going to be at the shoot and got a list of names. I ordered bagels and coffee from Panera Bread and set up a breakfast table in the back room. On the table were 6 individual thank you cards. Each card was hand written to each person attending. It simply said something to the effect of “Thank you for choosing Shannon Michelle Studios. If there’s anything at all you need throughout the day, please don’t hesitate to ask any one of our team members. We are looking forward to working with you!!” And then it had the one thing I knew everyone would need and want immediately. The WIFI name and password. It was simply about anticipating what they needed as well as making them feel welcomed. In addition [and once I had the list of names], I knew it would be crowded. As a backup plan, I arranged for me to be able to use the space across the hall from my office as sort of a second meeting room. Thank God I did! It was perfect for them to hang out, prep for the next shot, work on graphics etc. Then the only people in my space where the ones who needed to be there.
The final concern I had was that I don’t shoot live. I know that for commercial shoots, that tends to be super helpful but I don’t want to shoot boudoir live so I never invested in the programs or software. I thought about purchasing what’s needed to shoot live but quickly realised, this is not where I want to learn the software. Instead, between each set, I downloaded the CF card to my laptop where their entire team could select and edit the ones they wanted. This worked out fantastic!!! One of the things I don’t like about commercial work is the idea of an art director over my shoulder while shooting. So because they were set up in a separate room and they were editing and making cuts and decisions for the design right then and there! And because they were happy with what I was producing, they were not needing to micro-manage the shoot and they had most of the editing done by the time they left!
I really wanted to share this with you because so often times, we think we don’t have the right equipment or the right studio or we are not right for the job for some reason or another. And we stop short. I knew that I was right for this job. In the past, I would have come up with some excuse as to why I couldn’t do it or cut into my profits by purchasing things just for the shoot or renting a large space for the day and not charging the client for that because I felt inadequate. Don’t take on something that isn’t right for you but next time something comes your way, don’t say “no” because you’re afraid or because you don’t think you’re enough. Ask yourself how can you make this work. What makes you special? What can you offer that’s unique to your circumstance. It may be as simple as a few thank you cards!
