For my inaugural blog post I thought I would highlight a fashion editorial project that I recently completed. Around the beginning of autumn a model named Courtney Barriger approached me about a concept that she had for a fashion shoot. Since she is interested in production, art direction, and other behind the scenes aspects of film and photography, she wanted to produce a photo essay about models who live in a camper in the wilderness yet continue to lead the lifestyles that they brought with them from the city. The idea intrigued me so I set up a meeting with her to discuss the parameters of the shoot and inspect the location and set. After deciding that this would be a challenging and worthwhile shoot I agreed to team up with her on it. It was challenging and worthwhile indeed!
Courtney developed a cohesive story board, coordinated set and wardrobe with the resources she had available, and worked by my side during the shoot as much as she did in front of my camera. Most of the decisions during the shoot were made together since this was a collaboration, but I made it a point to ensure she always had the final say as the art director.
There were a number of foreseeable challenges such as lighting and shooting angles in very, very small spaces. Shots like shoes falling from the overhead storage and models rejecting/discarding clothing required take after take to perfect the shots. Factoring in all of the hiccups and delays, we shot for a cumulative day-and-a-half to complete 15 set changes and 6 wardrobe changes. The shoot was, for lack of a better word, exhausting! But it was a lot of fun, too.
In the end we produced a story that we feel is a good balance between a fashion editorial spread and a photo documentary. I hope you enjoy it!
