If you’ve been following along with our behind-the-scenes stories, you might remember the photo of me lying on the studio floor surrounded by CDs. At the time, I was building something Hayley had imagined. She had a vision for a monochrome disco cowboy-inspired creative portrait, and in her head the perfect backdrop wasn’t something we could buy. It had to be made from hundreds of CDs. One of the things we love most about creative portrait photography in our Langley studio is that sometimes the best ideas simply don’t exist yet. If we can’t buy the backdrop we’re imagining, we build it ourselves.
While Hayley was busy setting up other backdrops for upcoming sessions, I was on the studio floor gluing, taping and connecting CDs together, one by one. One panel took several hours. Fourteen hours in total.
By the time they were finished, we carefully manoeuvred the panels onto C-stands and stood back to admire them. They looked stunning. The light bounced off them in every direction, creating exactly the effect Hayley had imagined. We were genuinely excited—not just because they’d worked, but because they looked good enough to use again and again. We were already discussing where in the studio we could hang them afterwards so they’d stay safe and be ready for another creative photoshoot. But to make sure they stayed perfect overnight, we carefully laid them flat until the disco cowboy session the following day.
Fourteen Hours for Fifteen Minutes
The shoot itself was everything we’d hoped for! For about fifteen minutes, the CD wall became the star of the set. Hayley photographed our model from every angle, experimenting with poses, lighting and expressions until she knew she’d captured exactly what she’d envisioned.
Then we moved on. Different backdrops. Different props. Different ideas. That’s the funny thing about photography. A set that takes days to create can sometimes only appear in front of the camera for a few minutes. By the end of the session we were exhausted, but we knew we’d created something special.
Later that evening, Hayley sat down to cull through the images. She was thrilled! She’d found exactly what she’d been chasing. She’d got the shot. It would become one of our favourite creative portraits from the session.
The following morning, I arrived at the studio before Hayley. I unlocked the door, walked in …and stopped. About three-quarters of the CD wall had collapsed. Fourteen hours of careful work was now lying on the studio floor in a crumpled, accordion-like heap. I just stood there. Mouth open. Completely stunned.
A few moments later Hayley walked through the door. She looked at me. Then she looked at what was left of the wall. I finally managed to say, “Fourteen hours that took.” She looked back at the tangled pile of CDs. Then looked at me. Without missing a beat she smiled and said,“But I got the shot.” And she was absolutely right.
That wall wasn’t the finished product. It never was. The photograph was.
People often think photography begins when the camera comes out. Sometimes it begins days earlier. Sometimes it begins with an idea, fourteen hours on a studio floor, hundreds of CDs, glue, tape, sore knees, and a willingness to build something that might only exist for a moment. The set was used for about fifteen minutes. It stayed intact for maybe twenty hours. The photograph will last forever. So will the memories of creating it together.
That’s one of the things we love about creating custom photography sets. Not every portrait needs one, but when a concept calls for something unique, there’s something incredibly rewarding about bringing an idea to life with your own hands.
Most people will never know the story behind that photograph. They’ll never see the fourteen hours of work. They’ll never see the collapsed CD wall. They’ll simply see a finished image. And honestly… That’s exactly how it should be.
So, if you're looking for creative portrait photography or a branding session that goes beyond the ordinary, we'd be honoured to help bring your ideas to life. Because photographs don't begin when the camera comes out. They begin with curiosity. With asking, "What if?" Or simply... "I wonder what would happen if..."
That's where every unforgettable
photograph begins.
