The Big Photo Review: Eleven Hundred Pictures in the Can

It took two days for Tino and I to recover enough from the big shoot to function. My brain was mush, and I slept for sixteen hours straight. Just unloading and stashing the wardrobe took six hours.

I arrived at the photographer’s office a bundle of nerves. I had another box of tacos, our meeting grub of choice, only to find Tino slumped a bit in his chair. He rubbed his face hard and looked at me with intense eyes. “I’ve uploaded all eleven-hundred shots, but I waited for you to review them,” came his pensive statement.

I took a seat, and a deep breath, before saying what I’d been thinking for two days. “We’re about to see if we’re as good as we think we are.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Tino quietly replied.

The air was cloying as he opened the computer file, knowing we didn't have the budget to reshoot if this went south. I pulled my paperwork from my bag. The pages were well worn from constant handling during the shoot. We had to shoot some of the models out of order due to quick changes and it was up to me to organize the pictures into cover folders as we went.

The first picture opened. . . and it was magic. The tiniest smile blossomed as Tino and I side-eyed each other. The picture was of Chance McCord, who portrays Zane Drell. His stunning eyes pierced from the screen. The lighting perfectly caught his jaw line. Tino clicked through the next bundle of shots of Chance in slightly different poses.

“Looks like we may have the best problem I could dream of.”

“What’s that?” Tino asked.

“Choosing one, because all four of these shots are spectacular.” I grinned from ear to ear and picked our shot.

This continued as photos popped up on the screen. It took us two days, more tacos, and a whole lot of computer folders, before we had everything chosen and organized. We got every shot that we needed. Most of them had more usable options than not. Individual photos were captivating. Couples’ photos brought chuckles and some, “Ooooh, that’s so sweet,” sentiments. There were only two looks that we had to settle on, but only a bit.

With a relieved exhale, we stared at each other in disbelief, as the last photo landed in a folder.

“Well, Tino, there you have it. Looks like planning and a whole lot of time working together means we really did pull this off. We’re as good as we thought we were.”

Tino scrunched his face in his way, thumping his soda on the desk. “Two of the shots were out of focus.”

My mouth dropped open. “Out of eleven HUNDRED? I think you win the prize for best photographer ever.”

Tino scoffed. “Both would have been killer shots if they were in focus.”

I dissolved into elated laughter, saying, “I’m thrilled with the results. Now to build these covers.” That’s still a work in meticulous progress.

Photographer: Tino Duvick, Brokenchain Photography. Models: Winslow Trullinger, Maddie Dawn Cordero, Chance McCord