So I decided to tackle this Curvy Figures Gallery project today. Woke up early feeling hyped but man, everything went sideways at first.
The Gear Setup Mess
Grabbed my Sony camera first thing – battery dead cold. Plugged it in chewing my nails like WHERE’S THE CHARGER while coffee got cold. Found it under pizza boxes. Classic.
Hauled lighting gear out next:
- Those big flashlights I rigged last month
- White bedsheet taped to window
- Reflector with duct tape patches
Tripod leg jammed tight. Whacked it against the garage wall till it clicked loose. Left a dent. Oops.
Location Nightmares
Planned outdoor shots by the river… thunder cracked hard five minutes out. Got soaked hauling gear back. Sat dripping in my Honda brainstorming B list spots:
- Juan’s garage (smelled like motor oil)
- Old library basement (too haunted)
- My aunt’s sunroom (best option)
Aunt Bev demanded cookies for access. Emergency batch made using her mystery flour. Cookies came out crunchy like rocks. She loved ’em. Win.
Model Chaos
Three curvy models confirmed then vanished:
- Sara texted “food poisoning”
- Lexi ghosted completely
- Talia showed up late but forgot outfits
Grabbed wardrobe from my cousin’s thrift store haul – stuff pulled straight from donation bags. Found this amazing red wrap dress smelling like mothballs. Air freshener couldn’t kill that stank. Worked around it.
Execution Phase
Set up under aunt’s plastic grapevines. Lighting kept blowing fuses. Shooting sequence was brutal:
- Test shot = too yellow. Fixed white balance
- Next shot = light stand crashed
- Redressed Talia after fabric tear
- Aunt Bev photobombed carrying cat
Final hour magic though? Sunset broke through clouds hitting those curves perfect. Talia slayed when natural light hit. Got four keeper shots just before batteries died.
Editing Aftermath
Editing took forever on my wheezy laptop. Photoshop froze deleting background clutter 3 times. Almost smashed keyboard. Walked away for tacos – grease saved the project honestly.
Came back fresh. Took three all-nighters to:
- Smooth dress wrinkles digitally
- Fix weird green light reflection
- Crop out the sneaky photobombing cat tail
Posted gallery today feeling proud. Nobody’ll know about the mothball stench or broken tripod. Mission complete.
