corwinprescott

Carolyn Jean among the Daisies (and grass)

Added 2019-12-11 21:00:02 +0000 UTC

The unfortunate reality with photography is that really and truly a great photo is a fantastic lie.

Models make impossibly uncomfortable poses, and locations look effortless. Things that seem as though they should be simple and safe are not always what they seem. Grass and wild grass, while the same are quite different. About 2 seconds into our shoot I noticed a welt growing on Carolyn's leg and asked her if she was allergic to grass. She said not that she was aware of, but it turns out the grass we have in our field is a rough way allergy test.

One welt became many, and with each pose we quite quickly realized that yes she was in fact very very allergic to this variety of grass. I have no clue what our grass is, but its a rough one to some people. Carolyn being the badass that she is pushed on, twisting her poses to hide as much of the rash as she could, and we busted out our shoot in record time, so that she could run in and grab a benadryl.

I am no doctor, but I am guessing that its a particular variety that some people are more allergic to, maybe that the grass had gone to flower, and seed made the reaction worse, but I have been tested by an allergist for grass allergy and came back positive, but this grass has no effect on me.

Still something to always consider. When I'm on location I always have an epipen and benadryl in the bag for exactly such an emergency.