My First Pageant Shoot

I’m now in the beauty pageant business. Seriously? No, but kind of funny I can now say I have beauty pageant photography experience. I shoot way more video than I do taking photos, but taking photos is something I do like to practice. I have backdrops, flashes, reflectors, and remote triggers, which are all of the gear photographers use, but I always hesitate to call myself a photographer. I just don’t do it enough. I have taken other portraits like this of friends and family, but this was kind of a professional gig! I was ready.

My neighbor and friend was competing in a new Mrs. Maine pageant and needed some photos for her profile so she asked me if I could help! They have actual beauty photography gear that I didn’t have, so I improvised a bit and saved a couple bucks because I realized that maybe I don’t need ‘The Beauty Dish‘ or the ‘Westcott Eyelighter 2′. I love gear, so not a bad investment if you’re in the beauty business.

The Shoot

It only took an hour to shoot, but the setup took about an hour before she arrived. She had to pick up her kids so we were limited on time. I took 134 shots and she went through 2 wardrobe changes. It was fast. I think she only needed a handful of shots to send the pageant people so it was tough to narrow down to a ‘few’. I think I sent her 30 or so final photos.

The Gear

Which earrings should I wear? Good question. I had my gray and black backdrops, a small reflector mounted to a light stand to light any shadows under the eyes , a remote flash mounted to a GLOW light diffuser and then my Sony a7sii. I used a 70-200mm zoom lens kept at around 85mm, because I don’t have an 85mm or 50mm prime yet.

The Results

Despite the nerves I had to produce a good product, I felt at ease once I started shooting and seeing the results in camera. After I dialed in my flash settings, I felt good about my setup. I did minimal ‘touchups’ in Lightroom, but not a whole lot. Savannah was pretty happy too, so I think it was a success. Now…should I order a beauty dish first or a Westcott Eyelighter!