I love my job. You see, I’m the behind the scenes person for Eric Wyatt Photography. Eric takes the actual photos, but I’m the one who gets to sit back and make you feel comfortable and share in all the fun. This weekend, I got to see a photo of a quick session with fire, and I knew I needed to share my perspective and, by so doing, help you decide if this is the right kind of session for you.
What is a Fantasy Session?
You’ve heard of Fantasy Sports, but what’s fantasy photography? Well, when we use the term, we mean something that’s not quite part of the ordinary.
- Medieval style session
This is where you put on a costume that would’ve fit back in the medieval days. We might add a sword or other weapon, and we allow you to be the heroine or hero of your own fantasy story. With the backdrop of the Southern Oregon Coast, we could make it seem as if you’ve just stepped out of your castle in Ireland. Or we can take stock images (or our own images) to make it look medieval in other ways. - Smoke and lights session
We bring the smoke and colored lights to make it appear as if you’re stepping out of a fantasy setting. Again, you might be in clothes from the medieval era or something that looks great on you. Maybe even some leather vibes. - Fire session
To be honest, this is the session that made me start this post. You see, fire has been part of our family for years if not decades now. Our now thirty-year-old daughter was part of the “flaming hula-hoop of deaf!” as the then three- and four-year-olds called it. Since then, we’ve refined fire down to a flash in the hand or on your dumbbells. - Full moon session
These are trickier to get. There are several things that have to work out: weather, model (that’s you), place, and help. Everything in these images is real. Eric is about a quarter of a mile away from you, while either I or someone else is on the phone with him telling you when to move and how to pose. - Cosplay session
For cosplay we work with you to bring your character to life. It may entail some of the elements of the other kinds of sessions to do so. For Mandalorian, we used smoke and lights as well. For Shoto Todoroki we used lights and flame along with some ice.
Where do you get your wardrobe?
As you can see a fantasy session requires a different vibe for your wardrobe than what you’d normally wear–unless you’re at a comic con or renfaire. Sometimes, you bring your own awesomeness with you. We didn’t have a Mandalorian outfit or a Shoto Todoroki costume, but our clients did. Sometimes, it’s something you might want to purchase ahead of time, or maybe it’s something you already have. But what if you don’t have what you want? We do have some items available for you to use. Between flowy dresses that Eric’s added to the wardrobe closet and cloaks and chemises that we’ve had in our own closets, we can help out with some styles.
Where do we do the session?
Again, this can vary. The moon sessions are at specific places where the moon will line up with a cliff and a field of some sort. (We have several places that we’ve used in the past.) Smoke and lights can be done in the studio as can fire, or it can be outside in a field, or even in a parking lot.
How long does it take?
That depends on how many images we’re after. If it’s only one to hang on your wall, it can be done in as little as fifteen minutes. If we’re after a few more, or multiple styles, then it might take up to an hour.
Moon sessions are often get in place and wait, then shoot, shoot, shoot! Often the waiting is longer than the time of snapping images. But because Eric isn’t right there, you can’t even hear the snap of the shutter. It’s just either Eric’s voice on speaker phone or an assistant communicating, “Turn”, “Hands up”, etc. More likely than not, Eric will have gone over several pose ideas beforehand so that it’s quick and easy, because the moon moves rapidly.
Fire images are easy to add onto a normal session at the end, or they can be the intent of the full session. But fire is hot and the bubbles burn quickly.
What’s it like behind the scenes?
The word for it is “Fun” or “Creative.” Energy flows as we run out to do something unique for you. Although we’ve done multiple sessions for different people, they’ve been all unique. Whether that was one of our first smoke, fire, and lights sessions in a field or downtown Grande Rapids, Michigan, where we found a pool and brought some friends along.
Throughout the whole session, you’ll be guided along, but we’ll also ask for your input. What do you want? Is there anything else you want?
Above all else, relax. You don’t have to stress about these sessions. They’re a collaboration of your art and passion with our art and passion.