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Styled Shoot Prep

I won't talk about the creative process, ideas and inspiration, so we talked about yesterday the goal, the theme in the story, so people want to know, well, how then does a shoot start? So I wanted to dissect what was happening for us as we walked into the creative process to design what was going on next door. So when we okay, I'm gonna get into this in a second, so I don't want to jump ahead, okay? Let's, just dive into what we're gonna talk about today. This is what we started off with for inspiration, so the way that it looked for this particular shoot is the creative life needed to have a designer, because obviously I'm not here nor mind a designer, so we had to come up with an idea for inspiration of the photo shoot. I connected with kelsey because creative life said we're not going to find or we can't possibly find the designer that's going to be a good fit for you. So all of a sudden I felt like I was a bride. I actually had to surf the internet for designers and coordinators i...

n seattle, but I felt like it talk me such an imperative lesson about how people surf for vendors on the web, so for very creative teens on the web. I felt like if I was a bright and they had to go online and know nothing about the creative teams here in seattle I had to start from scratch and I put myself in the shoes of the bride and it actually really forced me to really make more conscious efforts as I was brining myself on the web because it I haven't been a bride for six and a half years and being put in that situation having to find somebody changed my perspective because I went through two rounds of searches without finding somebody who who felt like sit me if you had but bottom line a little bit diva if you had a template website automatically I wasn't gonna talk I didn't want to get into a conversation because you don't care about your online presence the way I want you to care about your online presence if they you know had a block that they didn't update without a long time I couldn't see any of the current work I didn't know who they were if they had a bio section that said nothing about who they were or didn't have a picture of them I just felt like how can I trust you? I don't know anything about you so all of a sudden I started realizing the power of an online presence so when kelsey and I first started talking I felt like immediately she had already gone through a test of who she was on the web, which teaches us as photographers. What are you doing to personalize yourself on the web and what are you doing to really showcase your businesses out in that capacity and personalize a very stoic, like webb? So after choosing kelsey, she came up to me and I gave I like to give, like the creative team a lot of like liberty, because clearly I'm not the designer. So I said, this is what the shoot should be. These are the things that I want to shoot during the shoot. What then can you do with that? So she comes back with these two options, she says, I'm thinking about creating a panel like white walls and then a panel on the panel, we're going toe wallpaper the panel and I love wallpaper because I don't see it too often specifically in southern california, so she gave me these two options, and then she says, which one do you think will work? Then? I thought, from a photographer's perspective, if something goes wrong, the color palette on the left side gave me more options to find details in the environment in which I was working with to play off of because I knew that there was a brick. Wall. Worst case scenario. I need to shoot the couple by the brick wall. It will still work in the story theme versus the sea wall paper. This is called rt waves on the right. And what water washed floral on the left so artsy waves give gave me less artistic option if I had to go to in an emergency plan b so I said let's, go with option one. It has a little bit more pop of color and they feel like doing things different brides, like two goes like a simple palate let's do something a little bit a little bit saucy, so one of the things that really appealed to me was kelsey actually included a lot of her drawings online in her web site on her block. And I felt like I've got to know kelsey through her drawings. Now some people can look at this and think, oh, they can think whatever they want about it, but for some reason it appealed to me, and I loved that about her. I immediately understood her vision when we started talking about it, she pitched this idea of hanging of having a hanging suspension and wondered, do you think that this would be okay, I immediately responded. And I showed her pictures where I have already done hanging displays to ensure that we were on the same page to see can I shoot it the way that you want it and will it photograph the way that you want in the way that you envision so here she's out of itemizing what the floral element will be with the flowers is a tightly wrapped custom dyed string stem so I know that she's taking all this time to invest what it will look like so if you're working with the team having somebody invest time to say this is what's coming do you think that this is ok and if they're not reaching out in advance and asking them what have you planned so far? Because there's nothing worse then you know, seeing like a tweet or a facebook status update from one of your team members pulling him on lighter for a shoot tomorrow and you're like I don't know if anybody works their absolute best were huge shoot with like under the crunch without putting a lot of time invested in advance so this is what the sketch looked like from a perspective from the wall immediately across from the wall that was designed for this particular shoot that middle panel is what will be wallpapered and then she has the table and she has a hanging suspension and we have flowers no what we talked about me said these are the things that I'll need for the shoot, and these are some of the things that she itemized because I said, I need paper, good paper goods really sell and connect the ideas so we talked about it invites sweet many cards, place cards. We're thinking of having favors, napkins, glassware, dinner where all of those things that in your itemized and I said for the cake, we need to make sure that the cake table matches with the overall theme. Okay, let's, move to what that is. So when we talk about the goal, the theme and the story, I needed to make sure that the idea that those ideas continued with us through the shoot. So the goal for today to create a creative environment, to showcase editorial wedding photography, teaching for talking for his worldwide fostering collaboration and hopefully have the image is featured on a wedding book. That was the goal for today, so the caveat being hopefully because the intention isn't to get it featured. The first intention is to showcase editorial photography, and the second intention is to teach photographers, and the third intention is to collaborate, and if we can get it featured, well, then dog on it, we did a good job that's the goal what's the theme, the theme was entitled the foundation of love that was the idea that kelsey kelsey pitched. She pitched for ideas, I picked one that I felt really worked in regards to brain in this particular shoot. So the story what is the story for today's? Shoot the bride and groom met along the coastline, where there is water in the air and it's, always breezy, wanting to re create the first moments together, they brought the coastline indoors, using washed out colors and breathe ability within the space. The bright, a fashion blogger, is a modern romantic with an affinity for textural elements, so she wanted to incorporate these ideas into her wedding. However, they also wanted to incorporate the groom's love for architecture, playing extra attention to structure and building of the wedding details. So that's the story? How can we use this story to connect all the dots for the blogger feature we want to eventually pursue? So we know that our bride is a fashion blogger, so we she's going to use and shoes address? Because by having this story when I talked to this stylist or when I talk to whoever's modeling for us, if she's a fashion blogger she can't use a traditional dress, we need something a little bit cooler, something a little different it could still be equally traditional beautiful, but it can't be what we've seen a thousand times before. We know that the groom is an architect, so he might be a little bit more serious. He's not gonna do anything quirky, he's not going to air strikes, socks, right? We know that there are certain things that appeal to him. And what will notice that the details of the shoot is because he's, an architect, we make sure and have clean lines for everything that was entailed. The table, what we had a standard table that anybody can pick up. But what kallio did was place a piece of wood with sharp edges along the edge of the table. And then kelsey covered it in tablecloth the cake table. How sharp edges the cake itself, has sharp edges. We didn't have rounded edges for the invites. All of these things are strategic in order to pay homage of sorts to the idea that the groom is an architect. So we want to combine both her appeal, and he has appeal. Now. The story also includes that the couple met along the coastline, and they want to infuse watery type of a watery type of coastline image feel into the images. Knowing this, we specifically chosen pastel colors. Knowing this, we didn't choose anything bright or anything korkie, we have hit two coastline and a hint toe water images what what all forecast is when I saw the invitation sweet today, you will definitely have a feeling of water elements to what we're going to photograph today, so when you see that I hope everything kind of comes together in that perspective, what we're going to move forward now, tio is what to photograph on a style shoot now, I hope that summer after we kind of casually hinted at the idea of her doing a ball coast about what? For talking about shaving, shooting on a wedding, this is a loose idea of what I try to photograph on a style shoot. Now this isn't heart of best rule, and I'm sure that the internet will pipe up and say you miss this, so feel free to pipe up and say what I missed. So a list of things to shoot during sounds you I think would be best to break them up into the groupings because if you have just a list of all these things you need to shoot for me because I claim toe like organization and yet I leave stuff on set is to break it into sections because sections for me is easier to cite. I got this got that got that ok, so the things that I'm looking at is also I have to understand that some photos are not just going to be for one person I understand that photos can be used across across boundaries so I'm going to say that it belongs to one particular vendor but it could belong to other people so the first person I'm thinking about is the designer what I need for the designer photos I need an overall photo this could also be applicable to the overall ballroom or reception site in which you're working this could be this should be without anybody in the photo a clean shot from an editorial perspective of what you're actually shooting details specific to the designer things that make that designer unique because she clearly has a thumbprint on division and wants to be seen in a very specific light. So for instance in this particular case it was kelsey's wholehearted idea tohave a recessed wall that was wallpapered I need to make sure that I shoot the wallpaper from an angle to showcase that it's a recessed wall and I also need to shoot the wallpaper head on just to have a sampling of what that wallpaper is because maybe just maybe the blogger that we pay the blob that we submit to will pare the wallpaper next to a photo of the bridesmaid holding a bouquet so we could see that the photos in the flowers on the wallpaper because we already showed you the wallpaper would be the same flowers held by the bouquet drawing those types of correlations ideas she paid extra attention to so I just talked to you she paid extra attention to the edges on the table, the edges on the cake and the suspension of the floral arrangement. I need to make sure that I'm taking photos that highlight all of those elements were to move on now to the florist I d photos that they need to take for the florist. And I just met the forest and she was just cute as a button and so talented. I need to take a picture of the ok. I want to take two photos of the bouquet so I want to take it both being held by the bride and not being held by the bride booting years putin, years by itself, if possible. The ten years on the lapel. I need to take a picture of the floral arrangement on the table. I just showed you a sketch of what that will be. When you see it in person, you'll see it come to life. I need to take a picture of the suspended floral arrangement and I'm just gonna take a caveat here. I'm gonna be so stressed out on the shoot. If you at home are writing a list of the things I need tio like shoot you guys, please keep me accountable. I'm not even lying is like a wholehearted sweet baby. Jesus. You remind me of the voters I need to take because we are on a very, very specific timeframe. Sometimes during a wild shoot I can shoot for three hours if I wanted, so it doesn't usually take that long, but in this particular case, we have two hours to shoot. I have to instruct, and I have to get a list of photos all at the same time. It's a little bit higher pressure so a oh, holler out at me florals on the cake and if they have florals on the cake table those air to remember how summer said take maximizing your photos. So if I had the cake table, I'm going to be shooting. I'm gonna get into the baker right now we're gonna talk about maximizing cake photos. But in this particular photo in this particular case for the florist, maximizing the pictures is if there was a flowers on the kick table, shoot that. If those flowers on top of the cake shoot that if there was a large flower on the side of the cake, shoot that, then shoot everything together. If they have flowers on a plate, sometimes there's flowers on each plate. I need to take a photo of that. I don't actually know what's going on next door, I'm forecasting what I suspect could be if there are any florals on the cake table. If there aren't enforced on napkins like jazz and does what you're talking about, you're right, I didn't, everything is going to be new to me, so here we go, the next person, the next team, I'm thinking that is the hair and the makeup artists I don't want to give a shout out to tiffany colors. She is a makeup artist here in seattle, and I I've been a fan of hers for such a long time I just absolute think she does amazing work and I've always wanted to work with her, but I'm not in seattle area, I don't have really have a reason to collaborate with her, and then the creative live came around and celeste, it are there any people that you want, a worker that I said, the one person I want to work with its tiffany colors, and I was so excited and then we started emailing and she said, I'll be on set early if you want, you can come have your makeup done, and so I was like, celeste, I need to make sure she's approved, so this is a tiffany color's face. Are we okay? Are we ok today? I know, right? I was like you pass gorgeous face, john. Thanks. No, I mean, that was just like I mean, that was just and here's the thing here's the thing white I automatically knew I was going toe like her. She does things classy because she knows that by coming in and donating her time to creative life into the thousands of people watching she's not getting paid for that she's here all day and not on ly issue here all day, she reaches up to me and says, I'll do your make it for free. That is classy. What can I do as a business person to reciprocate something like that? Forgive me now I know the fire is under my mom to take care of her two days ago tipping emails manchester's jasmine as we shoot the bride, do you think she's like I know that we don't have very much time? But do you think if there's any possibility that I could take the bride away and redo her hair to give her a different look? Because I'm trying to showcase to my bride's now that I want to stay there and do a hair transformation before reception, what do you think my answer is going to be after this girl has been nothing but amazing to me absolutely I'll find something else to shoot to give you the time to took your girl up because I like you were going to make this a win win win across the board. This is what the collaboration process looks like behind the scenes, so that was a tangent but shot out to tiffany colors activity colors on twitter? Um okay, so the photos that I want for tiffany and her team because you brought a team in today, I want to get photos of the hair. What we're shooting today is a bride and a groom and two sets of bridesmaids and groomsmen, so a total of six people, so we have a bride and two brides maid's what I need to do is I need to get pictures of the bride from, of course will be shooting her head on. I'm never worried about that photo, but I need to remind myself to get a picture of the bride from the side for her hair and from the back for her hair, and he needed it replicate that those photos also for the bridesmaid. So I think that they're going to be featured for blocks mission no, I really don't maybe a picture of the bride's hair if she's wearing like a cool hair piece and I get like a photo of that from the side possibility, but the other photos are strictly for the designer and I have to remember she's collaborative time and I want to make sure she has portfolio pieces because of that for the makeup artist I tried obviously we get like head on photos of the bride, but what could be cool is if I have the bride get a little bit closer to me and have her eyes looked down so I can get a nice framed photo of what actually tiffany's work looks like from a nice framed photo do I think it's going to go in to the blocks emission? No, but do I think it could be potentially a portfolio piece for tiffany to showcase what just our work on idlib looks like? Yes, they do, so we're moving to the baker, the cake maker um I just found out right now I actually thought that tiffany had assembled the entire team, but she didn't. She had put together she had actually worked with kelsey, the designer from sugar come events and she works with the stylist who I just met today and she's fabulous. The person who actually volunteered was a cake maker from here in seattle, and she noticed on twitter that was going to be a creative life and she reached out to celeste on her own and said, I would love to make the cake, which I thought was very cool the those teens like any time you could put something out on social media hey, I'm doing a style shoot I'm working with this other person. We're trying to assemble a team, he would be surprised to the people who like reach out to you, it hurts, it never hurts to put something out like that. So the photos that I want to get of the cake, I want to get a horizontal picture of the cake from the base up. I'm not so concerned about what it's sitting on at this particular time, I want to get a vertical photo of the cake from the base up all at virtually I level I want to get a close up of the cake, which would mean that which would mean I'm no longer concerned about the base of the base that the cake is sitting on just the cake itself. I'm going to be concerned with the cake on the table in its entirety entirely pulled back photo both vertical and horizontal. I'm going to be shooting the photos up close, perhaps with my macro, depending on what those details are or with my fifty the details on the cake itself and I'm also going to be getting photos of the bride and groom cutting the cake, what we're working with today is a dummy cake. But the baker and kelsey worked in advance toe have her bring a k a sliced cake so what we're going to be because remember we talked about giving your client's action working with a team in advance to say we're having a democratic and then we have a serving cake so we're going to make it look like the bride and groom are serving their bride and groom cake because I want to give them actions because there's nothing worse than just having couples like it just gets boring when you give him an action those of the pictures that are used much in which more frequency next thing I'm going to be concerned with today are the paper goods the team that we brought along for paper goods what I'm doing what I'm going to be getting for that person would be the invitation sweet that would be the invite the rcp directions and the envelope in which it comes and we're going to have to style like that I don't know what pieces I'm working with today I'm going to be looking at that on site and having to stylized them there so if it's not working let me know because all of a sudden I feel all this pressure to make it like the best styling I've ever done in my life because everybody's looking at it so you know we're gonna have to massage it a little bit I understand this so keep me give me accountable the invitation sweet what I'm thinking about in regards to imitations we are things that I could look around in my current setting to be able to put it on because remember we don't want to shoot it on the floor if we don't if we can stay away from it but I know since we're shooting in a student extra what is going to be available I don't really want to sit on the floor like I need to look at what the background could be and if I can include details from the date remember I said if you're driving past ah wedding and the yellow yellow is the theme and you see a lemon tree, grab a couple lemons and bring him to imitate like bring him to shoot the imitations or summer had said she using dishes imitations I thought uh such a good idea today if I can use flowers because I know that I'm limited it's not like I drove past here like a field of like poppies and I was like let me just grab a few before creative live today so I'm going to see what I can do is sometimes if I have to pull a flower and whenever don't tell me rides have the pull of flour from an arrangement to style is it with the invitation that's what I'll do because it connects the dots visually the menu cards as they're placed needs need to be shot and you usually get an angle shot of it. I usually get a vertical and a horizontal look a the place cards that have the names and I'm also I'm hoping, if, if possible. Kelsey, I asked chelsea to bring extra name card because we need to shoot the name cards. I'm obsessed, so I need to find a space in which I could shoot the name cards because any time that I can have a paper goods maker and I asked her, just have me, like, print eight extra ones, if possible, lay them out, and then I could shoot it in such a way that a crop so that it's not really relaying that they're not all there. Um also I asked to see if we would be able to get custom drinks. So if we have custom drinks and hoping I also asked her now it could be an absolute no, it couldn't have been. The paper designers is you push your limits. This is all free girlfriend. No. So whatever I asked if you get a paper goods identifying what that drink is because it would be cool to just shoot the drink card by itself and then having somebody hold the drink, so what we're talking about is maximizing the photos from summer style eyes in the note card, shooting it head on against a white background on a table and then having somebody hold that style drink this is all like what I'm hoping to shoot guessing so the linens I need the linens because the linen owner owns the linens, they don't need pictures of the lens, but they need the pictures of the linens are in relation to the flatware they need pictures of the linen in relation to the overall table scape and a lot of times what brings, like kind of flavor flavor is when a designer comes in and pears linens that the linen company didn't even really see like, oh, we see a texture here and a shimmer here we didn't really see that would work, but because of your eye we saw how it all work perfect so that's what I really want to start honing my eye to see I want tio ensure that the table I'm sure kelsey will get this, but sometimes when a designer is working really fast, I always have to come back and see if the edges of the linens are turned in towards the table so the edges of the table sometimes to be lifted out that always makes the table look incomplete always make sure that the table linens are tucked under yes, john artists that you're working with for bringing it together and doing a stylish shoot there's some risk that let's say someone brings an exceptional flatware like really nice china do you? What is the process beforehand of communicating with that vendor? Worst case absolute worst case scenario something goes wrong and something spills on the women's or flatware is broke or china is broken or is there anything that you do to communicate with these collaborators of basically I guess just to make sure that nothing goes wrong but how do you communicate um, how to go about the style? Don't I feel like if I want to communicate something in advance, it would be preparing them that you know I am going to spill okay? I'm gonna break that plate I think implicitly a linen company understands that their linens and things could be spilled on them. Okay? I think implicitly we're not using I don't know maybe in your part of texas they have tiffany china that you're using for yourselves shoots we usually work with rental companies, as does when I say we like no, the designers work with rental companies because it's advantageous to give portfolio pieces, which is what we're gonna get to right now called the rental company people who are providing these elements want photos too, because it showcases them in a real life capacity instead of just a catalog we're gonna get to that, but no, I don't repair anybody for what could happen, because I think we all understand we could break a cup. And today because you said that I'm going to, we can break the cup. E no, no, I'm just getting okay, not really, okay. Lastly, the rental company, the rental company, from what I am understanding today, it could come from two sources, but what I'm understanding for today, the chairs, the glassware, flatware are, and sometimes the table is coming from the rental company. We know that the tables today are coming from the rental company because kelsey did something unique, which is add the rounded, add, the rounded the squared edges to that. So that is the shot list as I go into today, and I'm gonna hopefully, memorize it by heart. Um, before I go to shoot, that is kind of like a wrap up for this first section.