F11—A Blog

Sunset
2025, Sarah Reid + Anja Schütz

Behind the shoot with Sarah + Anja

What planted the seed for this shoot? 

Sarah: My dad was the estate manager for the property where this photograph was taken and years ago he supervised the building of this incredible 14’ long granite table (out of granite that came from one of the fields) and I just thought the setting was totally cinematic, especially at sunset. 2 years ago during a particularly orange and hazy Canadian-wildfire induced sunset I thought too myself that it would be a stunning backdrop for a portrait of me and my favorite lady friends, perhaps for my upcoming 50th birthday.

As soon as that thought occurred to me I knew Anja had to be the photographer. The image that sprung to my mind was an Anja photograph - her signature and style being so distinct and moody - there was no other option. This photograph only existed in my mind because I was so familiar with her photography. It literally wouldn’t have occurred to me if I didn’t know her work.

And then the concept grew: we would dress up, make headdresses, oh and wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a pile of men on the table, draped around like noodles…

Were there any specific considerations for the idea which excited you?

S: I’m an interior designer and my favorite part of the job is the last layer: styling! So thinking about all the objects we could add to the tableau that would have secret and hidden meanings (and some very overt) was very fun for me. And it just so happened that my friends had a wealth of bones, animal skins, taxidermy, candelabras, and all sorts of other beautiful goodies. 

Speak about your visual inspiration for the shoot—costumes, table props, etc. 

S: I was inspired by a long history of art that blends femininity with danger, and when I asked my friends to participate I talked about wanting to end up with a photograph that felt menacing and beautiful. I had faith that a lot of props would arrive on photo day and that it would all work out. The table itself evokes Altar with a capital A, so I wanted to play into that, as well as a dinner party gone wrong, a shrine…

How did it feel to have your friends support you in this way? 

S: I tried to keep my expectations for participation pretty low, so I was blown away by how many friends immediately said yes - they changed vacation plans, drove long distances, gave me their whole weekend. I suspect getting to be photographed by Anja was at least 50% of the impetus ;) 

I think that when I am an old woman this photograph will be my greatest reminder that I have/had fucking fantastic friends. 

Has this sparked ideas for future projects?

S: I’ve never made art before! I feel like a newbie! I would love to make art that specifically centers itself around menacing women, and if I get to do it with Anja, all the better.

YOU CAN FIND SARAH ON HER WEBSITE OR ON INSTAGRAM

What about this project was exciting for you?

Anja: I really appreciate that this piece of work is 95% Sarah. The concept and vision are fully hers—the women, the men, the set. The other 5% are the friends and family who so lovingly and enthusiastically showed up for her (this is utterly worth more than 5%, I just can’t overstate how much thought Sarah put into this project). I LOVE that two of the dead men on the table are her son and her husband. That is love.

What tickles me, as at any shoot, is showing up with my light—and for this shoot, my incredible assistant, Paul Teeling—and coming up with results no one on set can see. Understanding how lighting works is an utter joy, and while the subjects see the light at work and poor Paul moving it back and forth and back and forth to effect proper illumination on everyone, they have no idea how it looks until they see the picture. It makes me feel like I have a bit of magic.

This is not one shot…is it?

A: No! With most large groups, what must happen is a composite of several images. To begin with, I tend to shoot with one light. This is true for most of my shoots. To achieve proper lighting for the entire group means multiple shots are needed as the light is moved. This means that many shots will have the light and light stand smack dab in the photograph. I choose a base image (in this case Sarah gazing down at W.) and build around that, pulling in subjects from different images in which they are properly lit and aren’t blinking or in the middle of saying something.

To add to the challenge in this shoot, we were working within the time frame of the sunset, which is a very finite span of time. Lighting had to change over the short course of the shoot so that people still were being consistently illuminated as the ambient lighting conditions changed.

What made this a special experience for you?

A: The subjects I had the privilege of working with were in large part people I have now known for almost two decades. To work with them after they’ve seen my work only as viewers before, was very special to me.

I’ve learned that my best shots come when I am able to enter a shared emotional state with the people I am shooting. This takes many different forms, but in this context we met as a group before the shoot and went through a discussion and an exercise centered around the mood of this piece. To sit with women (the men are dead in this shoot, and are literally props) and go deep about feelings and come out of it united in a mood and tone for the shoot was profound. Everyone ends up looking so incredible in the image. W., in the center, really understood her part of the assignment and gave me absolute chills every time I looked at her when I peeked out from behind the camera. She was utterly locked in, and so, so powerful.

Has this sparked ideas for future projects?

A: Obviously as a photographer, I am always thinking ahead to new projects—but having worked with Sarah on this, we are already discussing shoots around sets we build, etc. I am really excited to work on new ideas and collaborations together.