This was taken during the final workshop of the conference, a creative portrait session that pushed me well outside my comfort zone. The setup was impressive, with theatrical lighting, smoke machines, foliage props, and experiments with double exposures, all centred around a wonderfully patient model who somehow managed to stay composed while instructions flew at her from every direction. Unfortunately, with around twenty photographers competing for position, it quickly became a battle for sightlines. Being short definitely did not help, and I found myself growing increasingly frustrated as more experienced photographers pushed to the front. While I enjoyed the creativity and the jungle-inspired styling of the scene, the experience confirmed something for me, portrait photography really is not my natural habitat
