BTS ; A photoshoot that stayed with me

Being behind the scenes of a photo shoot is a completely different experience to seeing the final images online or in print. There is a quiet kind of magic that happens in those moments before the camera clicks. A mix of nerves, anticipation and creativity filling the room. It is not loud or rushed in the way people might expect. It is thoughtful. Observant. Almost meditative at times.

What stayed with me most was how organic everything felt. Ideas were not forced. They unfolded naturally as people responded to the space, the light and to one another. Watching that process up close made me realise how much of creativity comes from trust. Trust in your instincts and trust in the people around you.

The colours were the first thing that truly drew me in. Seeing the makeup and lighting interact in real time was completely different to seeing them through a finished image. Certain shades came alive under the lights. Others softened and became more subtle. It made me appreciate how colour is not just visual but emotional. It sets the tone of a shoot before anyone even steps in front of the camera.

One of the most memorable parts of the day was listening to the makeup artist, Katie Tighe, talk about her creative process. She spoke openly about how her inspiration often comes from music, particularly from 90s Irish bands like My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins. Hearing that connection instantly shifted the way I saw the makeup being created.

She described being drawn to the softness and distortion in their sound. The way vocals feel distant yet emotional. The way texture matters more than perfection. You could see that influence reflected in her work. Nothing looked too polished or overly sharp. The makeup felt lived in, slightly blurred at the edges, almost dreamlike. It carried mood rather than precision, which gave the whole shoot a sense of depth. Watching her work was fascinating because it was so intuitive.

She was not trying to follow trends or recreate something she had seen online. She was responding to the model, the lighting and the feeling of the room. It made the process feel personal rather than performative. There was a confidence in allowing things to be imperfect, and that made the final look feel more honest.

What I loved most about being there was seeing how everyone’s creativity fed into each other’s. A small change in makeup influenced the photographer. A shift in lighting changed the mood. A suggestion from one person sparked an idea in someone else. It reminded me that creative work is rarely solitary, even when it looks that way from the outside.

There was also something grounding about seeing the work behind the polish. The pauses. The adjustments. The moments where something did not quite work and had to be rethought. It stripped away the illusion of effortlessness and replaced it with something far more real. Creativity is not about getting it right immediately. It is about paying attention and being willing to adapt.

By the end of the shoot, I felt quietly inspired. Not in an overwhelming way, but in a reflective one. It reminded me why creative spaces matter so much. They allow people to express ideas that cannot always be put into words. They bring together different perspectives and turn them into something shared.

Walking away, I realised the experience had stayed with me not because of the final images, but because of the process. The conversations. The music references. The colours. The calm focus in the room. It was a reminder that some of the most meaningful parts of creativity happen long before the finished work is ever seen