As promised, next up on the blog is the first shoot I did of the November 2024 visit to Thailand when I was spending my first few days in Bangkok. Although this time spent on arrival is mostly used to acclimatise a bit, I will almost always try to find a photoshoot if I can and on this occasion it was an exciting one as Penny Kim had agreed to work with me – a really fun and talented model who I’d been in contact with on social media for years, but we hadn’t ever met … that is, until now!
I’d booked a hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 11 and although it looked great on the website, it was a hotel I’d never stayed at before and there’s never any sure-fire way of knowing how suitable it will be to work in. It’s a roll of the dice, but that can often be a fun challenge too.
Almost immediately on check-in I knew I’d have my work cut out. Whilst a reasonable size, good quality and the bonus of a large floor to ceiling window I realised we’d have little natural light with an adjacent building cutting out the sun. Still, I figured I’d just have to go grainy black and white if need be!
Penny arrived on the Friday lunchtime and we hit it off immediately, of course making sure we first headed out to fill up on plenty of coffee to get us started. Although it was early in the afternoon, the light was already dropping rapidly thanks to the tall building next door. We worked through two sets, but by the end of the second I was already digging out my LED’s to get me through. Sensing my mild frustration with this, Penny very kindly asked if I wanted to finish the shoot at her own hotel and so I found us shooting the third set back at hers!
Penny had a suite in a hotel that I’d not heard of before further along Sukhumvit Road. By the time we arrived we were still struggling with low light levels, but it offered a much bigger space and some interesting pieces of furniture which we were able to use.
After were were done we headed back to Terminal 21 in Asok and found a Japanese restaurant to enjoy a post shoot drink and food. I think that might have been the first time I’ve been to a Japanese restaurant too, so that was a good experience to finish the day with.
This is another I did a vlog for, so if you prefer that version then please check it out by clicking here.
I hope you will like the photos we took. Overall I found it a tough one given my preference for lots of natural light, but working with someone like Penny made it so much easier and very fun – she’s down to Earth and easy going, buy very professional too. I’d love to work with her again and hope to do so on a future trip – just with better luck on the setting and light!
