March 4, 2019

Fashion Photo Shoot Behind the Scenes: What You Always Wanted to Know

Recently I was asked to style a fashion photo shoot for a local photographer, here’s what you always wanted to know about working behind the scenes!

Behind the Scenes Collaborations

One of the things I have been working on behind the scenes is collaborating with other local businesses. Last summer I worked with local photographer, Alyssa Eidness, on a photo shoot with my Gertie Inspired Vintage Party Dress. You can read more about it in this post.

Recently, Alyssa (who specializes in Senior photography), asked me to help style these lovely young professional models for a senior photo shoot at a local hotel. I have never styled models before and it was a new experience for me. It was so much fun! For a long time I have been collecting a number of vintage clothing items and accessories for my own photography, and I was happy to share what I had with them for these photos.

The Edgewater Hotel has undergone a massive renovation the last few years. It sits right on the shore of the lake, which gives it a beautiful view of the ice covered water. This hotel is a popular spot for weddings and other special events in Madison. I haven’t been there in years, and I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived on shoot day at how elegant and beautiful it is since the renovation!

Styling Logistics

We were able to take over an entire room for hair, makeup, and wardrobe needs. The models had a few of their own things with them and we tried on a number of different outfits and combinations to find what worked the best for everyone. We were able to have two different ensembles for each of the three girls which gave us lots of photo options. The models hair and make up was done by Ultimate Hair and Makeup, a local stylist and makeup artist. She did an amazing job!

I never realized how much preparation goes into fashion shoots like this one. The girls were either in makeup, wardrobe, or in front of the camera all day long. (Don’t forget to mention this when finding models for your next shoot.) I can only imagine how exhausted they were at the end of the day! In addition, they were inside, out in the cold, and running around in high heels from one location to the next. Definitely not an easy job, but they looked fantastic on camera despite it all!

Networking for Common Goals

A local jewelry designer generously supplied all of the jewelry used for the photo shoot. Melissa was so sweet. We got along famously and I am now completely smitten with her work! Melissa Jenkins Designs has some incredible jewelry, you can order here through her website.

One of my future goals is to work with more locals businesses on some plus-size photo shoots, hopefully featuring my own designs for us ladies over 5o! More to come in the near future.

It was so much fun meeting new people at this event, stepping out of my comfort zone, and working together towards a common business goal. We are all part of a local business networking organization called Tuesdays Together which helps businesses connect with others in their area and build real relationships with people to further our business needs. Each month they have a free meeting and workshop. It’s been a great way to meet other small business owners, learn different things about creative business and marketing. Hopefully, we will have another opportunity to work together again soon! To learn more about Tuesdays Together in your area, see this website.

Sharing the Common Result

The gentleman in this photo is Wesley, another team member from this fun project. He is a videographer from Spoken Frame Media who put together this video of the entire photo shoot for our photographer Alyssa Eidness.The video is so impressive. I would love to do more video work with him someday soon! Together we were able to create an impressive and professional result that none of us could have achieved on our own. It’s amazing what you can achieve as a team. This experience was a great place to start and made me realize that I need to do more in the community, and build more local business relationships.

Are you interested in seeing how the entire Senior photo shoot project came together? Check out the full video that was made for social media below!

Behind the scenes | seniors

It's finally here!!!!video by Spoken Frame Media

Posted by Alyssa Eidsness Photography on Friday, February 15, 2019

If you live in the Madison, WI area and are interested in my styling services or other collaboration, contact me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you!