We recently had another photoshoot for our latest range so I thought it would be fun to give you a little glimpse behind the scenes!
All in the planning
Planning is key! We have done this a number of times now as we generally photograph clothing twice a year. Obviously, the planning does become easier with experience. The first time we did this we were learning as we went along!
First point of call, a few months out, is booking our photographer, Mark. This is shortly followed by a venue for the shoot. We tend to book a venue for the morning to get all our product detail shots for the website done. This time we transformed the village hall in Trumpington near Cambridge into a photography studio for the day!
The location shoots are done in the afternoon, these are needed for lifestyle pictures for the website and social media. We plan where we are going in advance - this time Cambridge - and we always walk the route ahead of the shoot to familiarise ourselves with spots for a great shot. We also contact the local council, and any other property owners, to get permission to take commercial pictures in the location.
Lastly, around one month out, we contact a model agency to select a model. In the meantime the stock will have arrived in our warehouse so we can count and check the dresses and prepare what we need for the shoot.
The location
We have used Cambridge before as it's local and a beautiful city to take pictures in. We always ask the council and any owners of private property for permission before we go out and take pictures.
We keep our fingers crossed for the weather to be kind but always think of some options where we can shelter from rain. This time we were in the north end of the city centre around Bridge Street and Portugal Place trying to make it look like summer on what was a pretty wet day!
We managed to find an undercover area outside a cafe. It always amazes me how by picking the right angle and light our photographer can turn quite an uninspiring location into a great shot!
On the day
There are usually 5 of us on the day: photographer & assistant, model, myself and my husband.
8:00am We get to the venue to start organising for the shoot. The photographer and his assistant arrive and start to set up.
8:30am The model arrives and starts on her hair and makeup.
9:00am We are ready to start shooting. The shots come thick and fast and there are some swift outfit changes. The day is always busy and fun - we put on a music soundtrack to keep the atmosphere upbeat. We get plenty of pics taken for every outfit with front, back and close up shots taken for the website.
Once we are happy we have the shots we need we move on to the next outfit. We have props such as handbags and jackets to add to the look and feel of the pictures. I have a plan of the items we will use and running order jotted down but I often find I change and tweak this as we go along!
When we have enough shots for all the dresses, it's time to take the whole set down! This takes about an hour and we also fit in some time for a quick sandwich for lunch.
12:30pm Time to pack up the cars and drive to the location site to get some lifestyle shots.
The location shots are a chance to get some everyday pictures to show how the clothes look in real life and we will use them on our website to advertise the products and on social media. We try to get a few pics of as many of the new dresses as we can so this does mean finding a quiet corner for the model to get changed or a local cafe to grab a coffee and use the toilets!
Thanks to the Espresso Library we managed to escape the rain and get a great coffee and some perfect shots by the window. Their Portuguese custard tarts are also amazing… but I digress….
Sometimes we need to wait for a group of tourists or the weather doesn't quite play ball. Often we need to be flexible and adapt to changes as we go along. Sometimes we find a location we didn't see before or the light means we try a different spot - it's all about going with the flow!
4:00pm It's a wrap!
We wrap up by 4pm hopefully with some great shots to review when we get back.
Once the photos are selected and our photographer has worked his magic on perfecting them they are ready to put on the website and it's launch day for the new lines!
Check out the new lines launching on the website very soon!
