A Behind-the-Scenes Shot from a Philadelphia Wedding Shoot Is Being Featured in a Fun Los Angeles Photography Exhibit  

On any photo shoot of which the subject is a person, there is a series of test shots that happen before the actual model comes onto the set and the real shooting begins.

There is all manner of futzing that goes on before you’re ready to take the real shot—especially with lighting—and in order to futz effectively, a person who is not the model often gets tossed onto the set in order to act as the “stand in” while the photographer makes adjustments to this and that.

I’ve done it. Photo director Jess Webster has done it. Pretty much any Philly mag or photography intern or assistant has done it. And when we’re talking about a shoot focusing on wedding gowns? Well, the photog’s got to see what effect all that (reflective) white is going to have, and so in many cases, a wedding gown must, at the very least, be held into the space.

And that’s how we got this fantastic shot above that is on display in Los Angeles in The Stand-Ins: Official MOPLA Exhibition at The Icon on Wilshire Boulevard. It’s by Philly photographer Chris Crisman, and that shot’s most excellent stand-in is his studio manager, Robert Luessen. Every once in a while, one of us gets a stand-in shot that’s at least profile pic-worthy—but that, that’s a really good one.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering how the real shot turned out, here she is, doing almost as good of a job as Robert showing off that season’s short-dress trend in our spring/summer 2012 issue: