The Making of Tidal Bloom: Behind the Scenes of a Water-Inspired Portrait Shoot
There’s always a difference between seeing a finished photograph and seeing everything that happened before it.
With Tidal Bloom, the idea was to create a series of portraits built around water, flowers, light, and movement. What looks simple in the final images actually started with a studio, a small water setup, lights, flowers, and a lot of experimenting.
Here’s a look at how the shoot came together.
It Started With the Set
Before we started shooting, we had to build the environment.
We created a water setup inside the studio and filled it with floating green leaves and white flowers. A dark backdrop and controlled lighting helped keep the attention on the subject while giving us the atmosphere we were looking for.
The goal wasn't to make the setup look complicated. We wanted the final photographs to feel almost natural, as if the subject had simply found herself surrounded by water and flowers.
Building the set before the first frame.
A lot of the work happens here, before the camera even comes out. Positioning the lights, working out the background, arranging the flowers and figuring out how everything will look from the camera's point of view.
Then Came the Details
Once the set was ready, we moved to the beauty and styling.
For the warmer part of the series, we introduced orange flowers around the eyes. It was a small detail, but it completely changed the character of the portraits.
Adding the floral details before getting back on set.
I wanted the styling to feel connected to the environment rather than separate from it. The flowers weren't just an accessory — they became part of the photograph.
Behind the Camera
Then came the part where everything starts moving.
Once the subject was in the water, we worked through different poses, expressions, compositions and lighting.
Water has a mind of its own. Hair moves differently, flowers drift, reflections change and even a small movement can completely alter the frame.
So instead of trying to control every detail, we worked with what was happening in front of the camera.
Some photographs came from the ideas we had planned.
Others came from moments that simply happened while we were shooting.
The Final Frames
After working through the different setups, we arrived at the images that became Tidal Bloom.
The final photographs are quite different from the BTS images, but that's part of what I enjoy about photography.
You start with a rough idea.
You build something around it.
You put the subject in front of the camera.
You experiment.
And somewhere along the way, the original idea starts turning into something of its own.
For Tidal Bloom, that meant letting water, flowers, colour and light become part of the portrait rather than simply decorating it.
The Process Behind the Picture
The finished photograph is usually the part everyone sees.
The setup, the adjustments, the styling, the conversations between frames and all the little changes that happen during a shoot usually stay behind the camera.
With Tidal Bloom, I wanted to bring some of that process forward.
Because sometimes the story isn't just in the final photograph.
It's in how you got there.