Princes Trust Collaberation

I have been on the Princes Trust programme for eighteen months and lauched in October 2013 since then I have met a lot of lovely Princes Trust mentees and this week thoroughly enjoyed working with three of them on my latest photoshoot.

The Princes Trust give help to young people both practical and financial to help develop key skills, confidence and motivation to either move into work, education or training. In my case the help is make a success of my business so I have a mentor who I meet regularly and back up help from The Princess Trust who arange different events.  At one event I met Andreia Sousa a make up artist, (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andreia-Sousa-Makeup-Design/664652373582973?ref=profile), at another Rose Courage, florist and stylist of Rosie Bespoke Styling (https://www.facebook.com/ROSIEBESPOKE?fref=ts) and I was introduced to Guy Wood our photographer (https://www.facebook.com/PhotoArt.By.Sirius?fref=ts) by Ginette Boyd  the wonderful Programme Executive.

Any photoshoot takes organisation and this one a little more as the first hurdle to overcome is to find a time and date that everyone can make, with this decided the next decision is the location.  I always like to tell a story on my photoshoots and the idea for this one is that of a girl arriving at a seaside resort on her holidays and how her week progressed.  The weather report was bad for Sunday which was the only day our model, Anna was available and this worried me until I talked with Guy who said he was up for taking photos in the rain as I particularly wanted beach shots.  My husband works in The Haven a beautiful hotel by the beach(http://www.fjbhotels.co.uk/hotels/poole/haven-hotel/) and we were kindly allowed a room in the Spa to change our model and also to take photos both inside and out. I am very grateful to the management and all of the staff, everyone was so lovely and helpful and the hotel was the perfect setting especially as it has access to the beach.

Talking over it with my business partner (my mum) I decided on a progression from a prim and proper look on arrival working through to a more carefree look at the end of the holiday.  We always visit the location before any shoot and work out a schedule as a guideline which we find helps us all work efficiently and be able to concentrate on the more important things during the shoot.

This was our suggested schedule which we also sent to Guy our wonderful photographer : –

Arrive at the location at 8.30 am earlier if the hair and makeup is done

Set up a wardrobe space in the spa changing rooms

Start with the first garment for the story board at 8.35 the pink dotted tulle- this could be photographed in the foyer by the revolving doors and in the bar overlooking the sea 20 mins

The second outfit is the high waisted dress with a wild flower crown, this can be photographed on the terrace over looking the sea because she wants to get closer to it.

The third outfit is the most prim and is really the start of the story and could be at the entrance there is a lovely fountain just outside, this one could also be taken by the revolving doors too.

The fourth outfit is the short set and there are some lovely big rocks on the beach i thought this could look pretty cool if she was sat on them, it’s got a Peter Pan feel to it.

The fifth outfit is the blue strapless and is paired with a hair accessory which is based on ram horns I would like this with the sea as the back drop or the beach.

The final outfit is my statement piece and I would love it to be photographed on the promenade overlooking the sea.

All of this is fluid, don’t feel like we have to stick to this, it’s just a good idea to have a sort of idea so we are not running all over the place.

Our day started at 7 am with make up and hair (again Jessica my sister and hairdresser did the hair and I am going to set up a business facebook for her in the next week or two).  These are our snapshots below:-

At the location we set up the room, clothes on the rack, hairpieces set out and shoes all by Irregular Choice for this shoot lined up by the wall.

The props from Rosie :-

 

Here is Guy getting himself ready for the shoot:-

The first photo, this is actually the ‘second day’ of the holiday but we had to work in this room before all the guests came down for morning coffee, here Anna is wishing the weather was nice enough to go out :-

This dress was accessories with my little boater and a pair of my Irregular Choice shoes, Fantasy Flower.

Arrival at the hotel:

Another pair of my Irregular Choice shoes Abigail Ankle, I have worn these a lot and the hair accessory is a pretty bow.

Onto the terrace regardless of the weather: –

Anna shoes were Mal E Bow by Irregular Choice and I had made a large flower crown for her hair.

I was busy directing and carrying props:-

And Andrea was on hand to touch up the make up

Abandoning all hope of the weather improving:-

 

Anna carried her Spot the Dot shoes and wore my flower decorated horns in her hair.  I love these and plan to make more in different colours.

Andrea adjusted  the lipstick to suit each outfit and freshened the makeup: –

The Beach Outfit, here the shots were just taken inside again:-

I love these shoes, I bought them from Irregular Choice in Brighton, one of my favourite pairs and they are called Cherry Shaker.  Her hat is based on a small sailor hat.

Last but not least my statement piece on the promenade:-

Shoes again by Irregular Choice, one of mine and a twin flower fascinator in her hair joined by beads across her forehead.

We had a great morning and it was lovely to work on the day with Guy and Andrea, I cant wait to see Guy’s photos.

PHOTO-STYLING

We were really happy with our finished Tricorn hats but needed to showcase them both on line and to prospective customers as we want to make them to order.

Usually I have got some idea of how I would like to present what we have made but this time I struggled so I am very glad that we met Joanna Jacobs at the Boscombe Vintage Market where we both have stalls. Joanna is a talented artist and photographer and an excellent stylist, have a look at her work on her facebook page http://www.facebook.com/JoannaJacobsPhotography?fref=ts.

The day started bright and early and we met her just after 8.30 am in a beautiful small village in Wiltshire

We started with the black silk hat and this was dressed up with furs. I had already applied my make up but Joanna suggested lips in the style of Clara Bow which did look great.

The dovecote was the background here

Next up was the lovely burgundy velvet and Joanna cleverly styled this with layers of tulle

The small tricorne proved the most difficult to photograph but I got to wear an Erte coat and for this one we started to darken my eye makeup to accent the mood

Great fun was had with the blue felt which was dressed up with a Hermes scarf and an Armani coat. The little blue and yellow flowers in the background just accent the photo but the great thing is that the hat really stands out which obviously was the whole point of the exercise.

The weather started to break at this point but there was just one hat left and we stayed under cover for the steampunk one.

This was an experience not to be missed, very clever styling by Joanna and beautiful photographs which deliver what was wanted. It was incredibly helpful to have input from a third party and be able to stand back and look at the finished product. It is important to do this, it helps you to grow as an artist/designer and also to see how other people interpret your work because it is not always how you envision. Alternative fashion is all about taking risks and playing with the style. Although I mainly focus on Lolita fashion this photo shoot just shows how versatile accessories are and how they can be translated into different fashions.