Making It: Beyond Fabric – A Photographer’s First Clothing Line Shoot

I’m not ashamed to admit: I’m a huge fan of Project Runway (there, I said it).  Something about watching people putting fabrics and materials together to create amazing pieces of clothing intrigues me.  I blame it on my culinary background, where throwing semi-random ingredients together to create an amazing dish fascinates me.  So, when I was approached to do a fashion shoot, I wasn’t sure what to expect – it’s not like the food or product photography I’m accustomed to.  I did my homework and made sure I read every bit of literature to get my head around what I was in for.  With this being the first kind of shoot I’ve ever done to this magnitude, it was nerve-wracking, but through the challenges I experienced, I learned valuable lessons and experienced an end result I am beyond pleased about.

I met the Tranquilista, Kimberly Wilson, after doing a previous shoot for a company that is releasing a DC guidebook that will be coming out TBD, and after reuniting at an event that was being hosted by this company, she discussed the photography for a book launch fête she was hosting (yes, she also writes books) and we talked about the possibility of also working on her upcoming clothing line launch.  It wasn’t something I’ve done before, but I certainly wasn’t opposed to the idea!  She always has a sweet disposition, and every time I’ve left her vicinity, I’ve felt at peace and, well, tranquil.  The model, Allison, works out in San Francisco (I’m jealous) and met Kimberly on a yoga retreat.  She blew my mind in how natural of a model she was – she had never done modeling before!  I was completely spoiled to have a model like her to work with!  Kimberly’s assistant was a fellow yogi, Eden, who was also a great pair of eyes to have around, as she noticed certain things before I even got to them and made my workflow easy.  I figured her clothing line would be a great step in the right direction for my business, and one step closer to shooting Michael Kors… err, I mean Heidi Klum.

You can read all the articles and publications you can get your hands on, but nothing prepares you for the challenges you face in your first clothing shoot!  Especially when you’re starting out, it’s hard to obtain some of the things you need to get going, and one of my biggest challenges is studio space.  Simply put, I don’t have any.  There are a few photographers that rent out their studio space, but trying to coordinate your schedule with theirs gets hairy, and I wasn’t able to get anything concrete on such a limited timeline (as in, only one day to shoot).  Fortunately for me, the designer is a do-it-all, and not only does she design clothing and publish books, she also runs her own yoga studio.  She had a room that wasn’t being occupied, so we converted it for the shoot with my portable seamless.  Another challenge was trying to properly light the subject.  The lights in the studio were adequate, but my single umbrella was going to make lighting tricky.  Plus, lighting products or food is completely different from lighting people!  I have used it before this shoot, so I understood how the lighting was going to work along with natural light from outdoors.  The biggest challenge was post-production: it SUCKED!  Because of my lighting, the white background turned almost a pinkish-gray.  This required a LOT of converting the background to white, which was excruciatingly painful.  Add to that the numerous photos I had to work on, it was an enormous headache!  However, now I’ve got the rhythm and technique down to make future shoots not so tedious.

I was certainly glad for the experience, but more so, for the lessons that resulted from this shoot.  I now understand the amount of time that results in these kinds of shoots, and that all of the time spent editing what was only a four-hour shoot needs to be compensated for.  With that, you must make sure that all of the terms of the agreement for the shoot are established well in advance, so there isn’t any confusion for future shoots and everything gets handled in a timely manner.  Luckily for me, she and I have worked together previously and were able to come to a mutual understanding relatively quickly, so nothing got dragged out, and we have already established terms for the next shoot months in advance.  Aside from that, more equipment is always helpful, especially to get the images that you want, so don’t be afraid to rent or borrow from a photographer buddy.  I was still starting out, so I didn’t have the connections or the equipment back then like I do now, and I know that I’ll be better equipped for my next shoot.  I’ve upgraded my camera and speed light since the previous shoot, which should make things noticeably better.  I’m still dreaming about better strobes and a Pocket Wizard, which are still out of my budget (for now – if I starve myself long enough, I’ll be able to get them), but thankfully I’ve made friends and have the hook-ups.  It’s all about networking!

The shoot was fantastic, and thanks to Eden for the help and Allison for being such a natural and wonderful model.  Because of them, the shoot went without a hitch, and we were extremely productive with a lot of great shots.  Most of all, thanks to Kimberly Wilson, who has been such a great client of mine for these past months.  I’ve had a lot of great work as a result of her, and she’s always such a pleasure to work with!  You can view her yoga and lifestyle clothing line, as well as other photos of the resulting shoot at her website: tranquilit.com. I am always surprised when I have a shoot involving something I never believed I’d get into and enjoy it beyond belief – it didn’t involve photographing food, yet was one of the most fun shoots I’ve had to date!

Next stop: Vanity Fair.