Yoga is one of those thing I tried to get into when I was younger and like many of the other activities I dabbled into, well, that too was short lived (lol).
I believe it wasn't too long after I posted my Bahama Ballerina photos (click here to view gallery) that Michelle reached out to me on instagram for a collaboration. Interestingly, I was looking at a few fitness photos on pinterest a day or two prior and thought it would be cool to shoot something similar. I guess its safe to say that this was a sign - an answered prayer to say the least.
I'm not sure about you but when people contact me on IG and other social media sites I'm somewhat skeptical at first because you could never really be sure about whose intentions are pure, who just wants a hand out and you never really know who's down right creepy lol. But I got a good feeling about Michelle and my gut led me to believe that this would be a good connection. Needless to say, it was!
Michelle is a yoga instructor and she and her family visited our islands all the way from Minnesota. I honestly don't blame them because who wouldn't want to lay out on the beach soaking up the sun on a winter break? They spent their holiday at The Cove, Paradise Island and its safe to say that it was the perfect location for our session. We were a bit afraid because prior to shoot day it rained every single day. However, after confirming everything with Michelle that morning, I said a quick prayer for good weather and everything worked out perfectly.
I wanted to shoot this one with natural light and its mainly because I was still learning how to be confident without my strobe. So I intentionally left it at home and told Ty (my grip) we're doing this with the sun and a reflector one way or the other. Thank God we did because we did have somewhat of distance to walk and lugging around additional gear might have been a bit stressful.
I've read many times in photography articles that one of the ways to become better is to force yourself to use what you've got. A lot of times we rely on our gear to create a great photo and although gear is important, what's most important is the artist's vision, creativity and execution. This is something I'm still learning and putting into practice everyday.
Working with Michelle was great. She was patient, cooperative and allowed me to be creative. I know I wanted to portray some kind of soul in these images while still focusing on Michelle and capturing some of the scenery. Yoga is one of those activities that forces you to focus and find your strength from within. I'm not sure if I'll get back into it but I'll shoot another session like this in a heartbeat (lol). Thank you for reaching out Michelle and whenever I'm in Minnesota, I think its safe to say that we'll be shooting again :).
- Ray.
Client: Michelle Schwartz Kalina | Photographed By: RayAndra Nairn | Grip: Tyreke Butler | Location: The Cove, Paradise Island