Every successful photoshoot has one thing in common; collaboration and communication. Sometimes everything magically falls into place; location, model, wardrobe, makeup artist...and sometimes it's an adventure getting there. One thing I can say with confidence is that even after weeks of planning and overcoming obstacles, everything works with a great team. If it wasn't for THRWD, Rick Flores (hair/MUA), Chloe & Dragonfly Agency, Glasshouse Studio (studio for daily rent, best light in Dallas, and great prices), Edo Popken (clothing designer), and Michael Dylan assisting, it would have never been what it was.
But before all that, you need an idea and visual inspiration. It can be from anywhere; advertisements, movies, art. After I had the theme of 'menswear' set in stone, I searched on Tumblr for visual inspiration. It doesn't have to be the best images, or what you want the images to look like, but it does have to capture the same theme and feeling you are trying to explore. I included a few of the images I found below...
Those are just a small preview of the storyboard for this shoot. Next was finding the perfect model, so a trip to The Dragonfly Agency was mandatory. Although Dallas has many fantastic agencies, I kept hearing about some fresh faces at Dragonfly that I just HAD to work with. They weren't wrong! As soon as I saw Chloe, I knew she would be the ideal model for this shoot. As great as that sounds, the downside of finding a model like that is limited availability. This went on for a few weeks; when I could get the studio and Ricky, Chloe was either out of town or booked. Looking back at it, I'm glad we shot a little later... if I hadn't gone to Edo Popken's party, I would not have thought to contact him for wardrobe (I was concerned with sizing initially). But as soon as I went into the store and pulled the tuxedo, the shirts, and the blazer, I was hooked!
So the next challenge was setting up a perfect time and day to shoot. We decided..after rescheduling 3 times (Chloe unexpectedly got a fever the day of the last time scheduled). We finally set it up for a Saturday, and it was the best day we had ended up choosing. Instead of the other days, which had rainy weather and mediocre natural light, this was overcast, even, and bright.
The looks were all styled by me pretty much on the spot, progressing as the shoot progressed. As I said, it's very important to be able to adapt and think quickly on your feet when shooting. Everything from the camera settings, to the changing light, clothes, and general atmosphere of the shoot must come together for a great image.
The THRWD Issue will be printed in the next few months, and I will post where you can get it! If you're in Dallas, we will have one of our great issue release parties as always. A big thank you to Glasshouse Studios, Dragonfly Agency, Rick Flores, Edo Popken, and Smith the 2nd for making this possible!
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