What’s Already There
A lot of my set photography work has been with Wonderhunt, a video production nonprofit in Chicago that makes short films and story-driven content. I’ve gotten to photograph quite a few of their sets over the years, which has been a really lovely thing to be trusted with.
Their productions are always intentional. The spaces are thought through. The details matter. The color of a wall, the texture of a couch, the way light falls through a window. All of those tiny choices are already doing so much storytelling before anyone even steps in front of the camera.
Which makes showing up with my camera feel like a gift, honestly.
This shoot was at a midcentury modern home being used as one of the filming locations. I got there a little early, before the day fully picked up, and had some time to just walk around. I remember noticing the light first. Then the colors. Then the lines of the house. The corners. The quiet little pockets that probably weren’t asking for attention but deserved it anyway.
That’s one of my favorite parts of set photography. Before everything starts moving quickly, there’s this small window where the space is still just a space. You can feel what it might become, but it hasn’t been filled with all the noise yet.
Once production starts, it becomes more of a balancing act. You’re working around a whole crew, a schedule, a shot list, and a story that is already being built in real time. So much of the job is knowing when to move and when to stay still. When to get the frame and when to disappear a little. You’re trying to be present without becoming another thing people have to work around.
I like that challenge. Moving quietly. Watching closely. Finding the frames that hold some of what the day actually felt like.
The good photos usually come from slowing down enough to notice what’s already there. The light on a chair. Someone waiting between takes. A room before it becomes a scene. The small things that quietly carry the whole feeling of the place.
