PHOTO DIRECTING HIGHLIGHTS
Working as a photo director can sometimes feel like herding cats. Especially if you're working with cats. Or teens. Or tweens. Or anyone really. However, getting the chaos under control and guiding cast (and cats!) and crew to create beautiful images that tell a dynamic story is so rewarding. Whether it's a 1-hour shoot in the studio or week-long shoot on location, my communication, organization and teaching skills shine while I'm directing.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS, ANIMAL SCIENCE BOOKS
Live animals and teens on set simultaneously? How hard could that be?? I produced and directed this awesome pair of books that required exactly that. I did the casting for all of the people and pets, and scouted the multitude of locations. I sourced all the props and materials for a total of 44 science activities (22 per book) and hired and directed the photographer. Each book required five+ days of shooting, lots of patience and a steady supply of treats for the animals (and humans). All told, there were 14 locations, 28 diverse teenagers, 15 dogs and 13 cats. And believe it or not, we wrapped up without a bite or a scratch!
BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE CAT SCIENCE SHOOT
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS, SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS BOOKS
I produced and directed a set of three large hands-on science experiments books. I casted for real, diverse and positive minded teenagers. I scouted locations and handled the styling props and science materials for 141 experiments. I also hired and directed the photographer. Each book required a minimum of 5 days days of shooting on location. One book was weather related and required shoots scheduled throughout the year to include Spring rain, Summer humidity, Fall color and Winter freezing temperatures. One of the biggest challenges was making sure the experiments actually worked, so I directed the kids to be scientists, teaching them that embracing failure is crucial for scientific progress. And fail we did! Across the three books, there were 74 kids, 9 locations, and almost as many fails as there were successes!
