A Photo Shoot in Key West, FL

In my 35 years as a professional photographer, I have worked in most every state and several different countries; sometimes corporate event photography, sometimes sports, sometimes a destination wedding.   However, there is something special about Florida.

Climate wise, Colorado is amazing.  When it comes to clear turquoise water, you can’t beat the Bahamas.  For incredible seafood, go to Bodega Bay, CA.  If you want fun music, head over to Nashville.  But Florida lightens my heart and has a sense of home…which is strange, since I never lived there.

Last week, I drove down to Key West.  Yes, it was a long drive and I enjoyed every moment.  On the way, I stopped and picked up Harlow Wilde.  A beautiful and talented professional model I had chatted with on Instagram.  She had agreed to come along and model for me.  It was my first time meeting her and she was great…  We made great time, even with side road diversions of checking out spots for future photos shoots.  We also had the joy seeing a Key Deer (they are endangered so it was very cool to see one).

We got to Key West in the evening and had dinner on the beach.  After that, we found a hotel and went to bed early.  The next day was going to be long!

Time to shoot!  5am rolled around and we got to work.  Harlow started on her make-up, I started on my gear.  Sunrise beach shoot!  What to pack?  Knee pads for sure, some sunscreen, a couple of strobes with small modifiers cause of the wind, camera, lens, towels.  Toss in some water bottles and granola bars (Sunbelts are my favs) and I was set.  Harlow is a pro and was ready on time…we headed out in the dark.  We got to the beach during blue hour and she changed while I set up.  It was a perfect morning and a great sunrise…  She did six changes and everything went great.  Not to many bystanders staring at a beautiful model in the waves.  No interruptions.  Just a fun shoot…  Again, something special about Florida!

During the day, we did the touristy thing, buying T-shirts and Ice cream, exploring Key West and it’s chickens.  We did take a few photos in the hotel pool (I have an underwater camera as well).  The direct, over-head, sun actually works great for that.

And then it was time, sunset photos!  We went back to the hotel, back to packing gear and Harlow doing more dramatic make-up for sunset images on the beach.  No bikinis for this shoot, this was a huge red satin dress and about 12 feet on train!  It was a WOW!

The next day was basically a repeat with different outfits…sunrise, pool, and sunset…  We had FUN!  We did dinner at Pho King Awesome – it was delicious and we loved the name! LOL  The next day we said good bye to Key West and drove back up the keys, again stopping for picnics and checking out the state parks.  Even going swimming in the Atlantic and shooting with the water proof camera again.

Finally, pulling into St Augustine Beach, we did some INCREDIBLE sunset photos at a little hidden spot that Harlow knew about!  We got a hotel for one more night, got up early one more time…  And hit the beach.  A storm had rolled through the night before and it was cold! The crashing waves were incredible.  Harlow was wrapped in blankets, and using me as a wind block, I had on my heavy hoodie and shivered!  And then, the sunrise, it could not have been better!  Florida – WOW!  Even with the waves and the wind, we got stunning photos.  Harlow was a pro!  She braved the wind and the cold.  She moved through poses and expressions.  She knew her body and how to pose it.  I could not have been more thrilled!  After cleaning up and warming up in the hotel (including a hot bath for Harlow), we checked out and looked for some breakfast.  We asked around and ended up at the “Beachside Diner” – it was packed.  After having their Crab and Shrimp Crepes, we knew why!  YUMMY!  (I highly recommend!)

And then, just like that, it was done!  It was time to take Harlow back home and head back to Tennessee.  We hugged and chatted about our next shoot/trip.  She is a top model and I highly recommend

The drive back home was uneventful, but I definitely felt a loss when I crossed the state line, leaving Florida in the rear view mirror.  Thankfully, I have lots of fun photos to remember the trip by…

Model: Harlow Wilde  IG: @harlow_wilde_