to write upon my heart: Photo-shoot

Yesterday was another great photo-shoot day!

The NEW shipment of tops came in last Friday so I immediately contacted my photographer (Mary O. Photography) SHE IS SO GREAT AND TALENTED. Oh, and I may be a little bias because she is my little and great friend, but really The Lord has given her a wonderful gift of having a keen eye for photography. She is very creative and is also just so much fun to work with. This was our second scheduled shoot for my clothing line, but we have had many photo-shoots together throughout our college years. :) Okay, so back on topic! I received an email from my manufacture early Friday morning, as I was on my way into one of the Elementary schools for subbing. My shipment of tops had been sent out Thursday which meant I would be getting them on my doorstep at any moment. Thankfully my mom works at the school I just so happened to be at that day and when the UPS guy stopped by she asked if my package was in his van….and IT WAS! Yay! So, he dropped it off at the school and I went and opened the box up as soon as I could to look over the garments. They looked great! Now all I needed to do was schedule a day for a quick mini photo-shoot in order to place merchandise online for all of you to look at and purchase. :)

Tuesday ---October 1, 2013----Photo-shoot time!

This was the day I wished I had an assistant. By this point, I am used to doing everything by myself from accounting, financing, marketing, media, running a company, keeping inventory, being the designer, calling advertising companies……everything you can think of. But I was just so excited for the shoot, I was overwhelmed. This morning I needed to:

steam six tops
break down the dress form into two pieces so it would fit in my car (and so i could carry it, it can get kinda heavy ;) )
grab accessories - scarves, necklaces, bracelets
beauty products – makeup bag, curling iron, hair spray, brush (essentials)
boots and neutral flats (always bring an extra pair of shoes on a shoot to switch up the look)
make a check list of all the shots I need to get
stuff everything I can into one (large-ish) tote bag!
load up the car
hang tops so they won’t wrinkle on the drive
GET myself ready- hair, makeup, clothes
remind myself to eat lunch
drive to location

Once I am there, Mary and I head out to a location we think would be the best for single detailed shots for the website including front, side, back, and detailed views of each top. The wind was a-blowin’ and it was very sunny – which meant shade was necessary in order for shadowing effects to be unseen and to eliminate excessive shining from the light onto the tops. We found the perfect spot. White walls, shade, and….. it was right by a stinky dumpster. BUT lucky us, it was empty so the smell wasn’t an issue. Perfect. Mary modeled the quick shots which meant I WAS BEHIND THE CAMERA! After a quick lesson of how to adjust the camera properly with the lighting we were on a roll. Swapping out scarves and jewelry to add a lifestyle detail to each shot, I grabbed selective jewelry and placed it on Mary and she was all about it. We were on a schedule so we moved very fast pace and so much fun. After capturing all of the detailed shots we switched places and I began to model the tops. We found this beautiful turquoise staircase so I put on one of the orange tops with a vintage turquoise round sterling silver bracelet and the shoot went from there. Orange with turquoise is a great combo. We came across an alley lined with trees on the left and on the other side white rustic paint and square block windows covered the walls. Really, a great alleyway can give a photo-shoot so much life. The details in the rustic walls and the unique glass windows you’ll find are amazing. And well..what’s a photo-shoot without a field now a days? So we found one and those shots turned out amazing…I can’t wait to show y’all. In-between shots we ran to the car, changed tops quickly, pulled hair up into a bun (thank goodness for bobby pins – a girl’s best friend), and layered some great arm candy all to switch up the looks.