Diary of a professional art/illustration photoshoot

I have needed some professional photos for some time now and I kept losing the gumption to do anything about it.


I procrastinated quite a lot by reading plenty of photography ‘how to’s’ and watching advice on YouTube. This was all very well and certainly upped my game, but I knew I was still missing a certain something .


I didn’t really know the next step forward and it wasn’t until Emma Griffin of Emma Griffin Photography sent me a message In January that I decided to go for it.

I had been following Emma on Facebook and loving her creative work and had entered a couple of her Facebook giveaways in the hope that maybe I could win a photoshoot.


This was not to be, but instead she offered me a really good deal the very day after I had exclaimed that I ‘really needed to get some professional photos done’ to my family!


Synchronicity won the day!

I had been looking forward to the shoot for weeks and then started to feel the fear. It wasn’t so much about having the photos taken, but more the question of what if I get all this done and it doesn’t work for me?


What if this thing that I had been saying had been holding me back was no longer shown to be the case? That is, it wasn’t my photos after all, but simply me?


Well, I find the mind to be a funny thing sometimes and there are definitely occasions to turn the thoughts off. After all my mind had quite rationally got me into this before it started with the negative talk. So, I just ignored that and carried on.

The actual photo shoot.


Emma was very lovely and curious about my work, putting me at ease and taking charge of the situation.


She obviously knows what she is doing, not only in terms of taking the photos themselves but also content creation and storytelling.


Emma had me pulling out my lino prints, iPad illustrations , and showing her how and where I work. She took photos of me with my screen printing screens as well as my lino cutting tools.

My main concern was to get some shots of my t-shirts as I really wanted to get them out into the world some more. It’s a little awkward modelling your own work, but Emma directed me pretty well and I am delighted with the images.



I feel as though she captured my energy really well and now I can use them on my about page (check it out).


Emma worked really quickly and was finished at my house in about an hour. She took some of my work home with her in order to take some flat lays and then she had the images sent back to me the next day! I thought that was pretty awesome and it’s great when you are excited to see the results.

She sent me 60 photos in total ranging from flat lays of my work to story shots and portraits. All in all a very useful package that I can now distribute through my Etsy and social media plus any other marketing opportunities.


I think that nowadays this is a solid investment for any creative. I don’t expect a sudden flood of interest in my work, but just from a personal sense of self I feel as though I am taking myself more seriously.


It’s a little crazy that as a creative we tend to hold ourselves back the most and self belief is such a big part of this. I certainly feel the fear with each step forwards, but I also feel the joy of creating and sharing and this makes it all rather exciting!


Anyway, I hope this might have given you some insight into the process and maybe inspired you to go for it yourself!


I’d love to know what you think of my pics and please check out more of Emma Griffin’s work.

https://www.griffin-photography.co.uk/