I did another open studio night this week—had a blast, got some cool pictures, and met some interesting people. But I want to start turning these sessions into more of a learning experience. So from now on, I’m going to list one thing that went well and two things that didn’t, to help me target specific areas for improvement.

What went well?

Aside from having a lot of fun, I went in with a clear goal: to get images I could use for my camera club’s Photoshop challenge. I spent some time on Pinterest gathering ideas for creative edits, and I think that helped me focus on the types of poses I wanted to capture. I wasn’t really directing Fatim through poses, but I found myself thinking back to my idea board while shooting. Hopefully, this will eventually evolve into the ability to guide poses more intentionally. For now, I think just having a rough visual plan going in is a solid step in the right direction—I just need to keep refining this approach.

What can I improve on?

Composition. Okay, that’s too broad—but specifically, I’m noticing a pattern in my shots: I’m leaving a lot of empty space above the model’s head and cropping off their legs. Part of that is due to space limitations—I was shooting at 70mm and backed up as far as I could without ending up a mile away. But I also had a 40mm with me and didn’t switch, even though it would’ve solved most of the framing issues. And even at 70mm, if I’m leaving headroom and losing legs, I just need to tilt the lens down. Simple fix—just need to be more mindful.

Second thing: use my light meter. I brought it, but it just sat in my bag while I guessed at my flash settings and leaned on the histogram. The tool exists for a reason. So… use it!