For the past few years, I’ve been working on an ongoing personal project called Set in the Street. The concept is pretty simple -- I build photo sets literally on the street, do a photoshoot, and then leave the sets up for others to take pictures in. I started doing the project because I couldn’t afford to rent a studio to shoot a personal project, so I decided to utilize the wall of a building and the sidewalk. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to take the project to Times Square, London, Berlin, Moscow, and most recently, Prague.
For the most recent shoot in Prague, I partnered with the production company Creative Embassy to help with the logistics of the project. They were able to secure the perfect location in front of the Prague castle for the shoot! They also helped me with casting, I was super happy with the kids I was able to get. For wardrobe, I showed the stylist a few references of what I was looking for. After a few days of searching thrift stores, he wasn’t able to find anything, so he made the clothes from scratch. First time I ever had that happen :)
We did the hair, make-up, and the wardrobe fitting at the Creative Embassy’s office before we went to the location. While we were doing all that, I realized how awesome the stairwell looked and decided to do a few shots of the kids. The stairwell even had a skylit so all these shots were done with natural light.
Once we left the office and arrive at the Set in the Street, I had about 20 minutes until the perfect lighting. I tried a variety of different poses with the children until I got exactly what I was looking for. On a side note, it’s always an extra challenge when trying to direct talent when you don’t speak their language. But in the end, I was really happy with the final shots.
It has been pretty cool to see how the project has resonated with people. The project has lead to a lot of commissioned work, which always reminds me that it’s important to do personal projects for the commissioned work you’d like to shoot.
If you want to see photos other people have taken in the set, check out the hashtag #SetintheStreet
Find the Making-of video on Youtube:
