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Concepts for Catalog Shoot?
Prepping a sophisticated swimwear catalog shoot. (My style is more high-style than Brazilian thong...) Thought about doing a shoot on the beach...3 months ago. Now being November, that's less likely, even in Houston, as I would prefer the models not hate me. lol. So...how do I decide? 1) simple neutral background, uniform shots 2) creative indoor background? I was thinking of maybe teaming up with a local furniture store, and seeing if they'd let us shoot inside! Great idea...feasibility questionable... Let me know what comes to mind. THANKS! Nov 06 06 01:36 pm Link Natalie Miller Designs wrote: The furniture story idea is good but I can tell you that there is one group who really gets pissy about having their stuff in print with compensation.....furniture manufacturers. Nov 06 06 04:12 pm Link How about doing something that contrasts with the swimsuits? Put the models in places they wouldn't normally go, like industrial complexes, factories, parking lots at night (Houston isn't that cold), or something like that? Nov 06 06 04:17 pm Link If you can find a construction zone, incorporate the hard hats and work boots with the swim wear since that's always been an editorial crowd pleaser. Natalie Miller Designs wrote: Hey, if they donât hate the photographer, theyâll hate the stylist, just a fact of life Nov 06 06 04:25 pm Link Stick with a location that is swimwear related or shoot on seamless paper. If you are going to try and pull off a location that contrasts to swimwear you better have one hell of a creative team to pull it off...otherwise it will end up looking like crap...and that isn't a good thing. Sometimes SIMPLE is better! Wayne Nov 06 06 04:48 pm Link Loving the feedback, keep it coming... (think I'll give the furniture store a shout and see if/how loud they laugh at me...) Nov 06 06 04:58 pm Link You could always do a beauty pagent type scene. A spring break bar party/bikini contest theme isn't too hard to pull off. Something really stupid like an indoor (or for that matter outdoor) pool? Just a couple of thoughts. RB Nov 06 06 05:13 pm Link Waites wrote: I actually really like this idea. Place them in the middle of the woods. Or the center lane of a street (I did this once, but the model wasn't in bikini lol). Or inside a luxurious mansion. Or in the seats of a theatre (opera, not movie). Or...or...or...lol. On a grand piano? Nov 06 06 05:22 pm Link Woohoo! We're off and running! Loving some of these concepts...too bad I'm not in Indiana anymore, the Dunes on Lake Michigan could be neat... Keep them coming, it gets my creative juices flowing! :-d Nov 06 06 07:04 pm Link Perhaps this is getting away from the flow of ideas, but who is the customer that would buy these suits? What would they be most affected by visually. Everything's been done before, so here's an offshoot idea. Torn and draped bkrnd paper of different shades or tones lit in a subdued way and out of focus. Basically, to provide texture. We'll assume you have an endless supply of paper you're willing to destroy! LOL Good luck Nov 07 06 12:01 pm Link Wayne Sclesky wrote: I agree. Nov 07 06 12:03 pm Link Correct. Marketability is priority one. I want my retailers and customers to be fascinated, but not distracted from the garment. Since we're talking about a catalog and not a portfolio, is cohesiveness so essential? My color palette and designs themselves are each a part of a whole, yes, but... Because my theme is based on "international flavor", maybe it could be fun to hint at that in each shot. Like, the Russian-inspired one makes me want to find one of those fuzzy hats they wear in the Kremlin. For the "Aspen" suit, I want wood tones, silver, and whites in the shot. Too scattered? OR REALLY, REALLY CLEVER? Nov 07 06 03:52 pm Link FYI - my style list: Chisinau (Moldova, old USSR) Versailles Cannes Hyannisport Malibu Aspen Rio Ipanema Shanghai Dublin Athens Nairobi Canterbury Piccadilly Havana Nov 07 06 04:03 pm Link Remember the Lacoste Spring/Summer 2006 campaign/catelog? Assuming you have nowhere near the budget, just forget the mansion and the yacht. It's a visual place to start. Nov 07 06 04:04 pm Link Natalie Miller Designs wrote: Too expensive, perhaps. Think of all the props and set changes that would have to be made. I think that you should have the suits be the stand out thing but also have a common thread mixed into every shot. I think lighting should be consistant too. Just have it so something in the background (like on a set) is different each time but not overly. Break each background up with a different perspective or pattern, but keep the same tone. Nov 07 06 04:30 pm Link don;t you have an art director that you are working with? usually they are the ones who decide the concepts and layouts for catalogs or is this your own catalog for photography? working with a good art director is a great way to combine creativities and get amazing stuff Jim Nov 07 06 04:32 pm Link Unless you're talking big names, my experience has been that the designers ARE the art directors. This is my launch (read: first collection, minimal budget). Lighting = consistent. Makes sense. Nov 07 06 04:51 pm Link Natalie Miller Designs wrote: In response to the beach reference... This is why Florida (and other tropical locations) are in season during the cold-elsewhere months. Nov 07 06 04:55 pm Link I am assuming that this is your swimwear line and that there is a rather modest budget for set/locations. Have you considered natural stone, stucco, and/or colored concrete? These could be fashioned to form the set inexpensively and would provide a texture to your background with out being distracting. Nov 07 06 04:57 pm Link oldguysrule wrote: And if you'd like a photographer to work with that art director, feel free to contact me Nov 07 06 05:00 pm Link oldguysrule wrote: [small world story: My Bridal company used Raleesha in a recent runway show in New York! I thought something about your port looked familiar...] Nov 07 06 05:39 pm Link Sneak into an upscale model home and borrow their shower/bath tub, bedroom, couch....  Nov 07 06 06:06 pm Link Sleepy Weasel wrote: Nice! Homebuilders might be a fallback if my furniture store people freak out. Nov 07 06 06:16 pm Link Natalie Miller Designs wrote: I doubt you'd have any luck there, either. I spent two years involved in model home photography and what you want is not something you just ask to do. You would be taking up valuable time away from the sales force, so I'd forget about that option. Model homes are made to look beautiful for a reason... to sell homes, not provide a photog. set. Builders don't mess around. Did you look at that link I sent you? Nov 08 06 09:34 am Link David Gabel Photography wrote: That portfolio is one of the most impressive I've laid eyes on. I especially like what he did with the ballroom/castle? settings backlit red. Nice. Also nice to see "Advertising" contrasted to "Fashion". Nov 08 06 10:57 am Link David Gabel Photography wrote: That's why I said "sneak into...". I was planning a shoot at one near my house....the homes are overpriced like you wouldn't believe and NO ONE comes to the models. Wife and I were just looking - on a Saturday, nice weather, midday - and no one esle came around for the 30 minutes we were there. I may try a shoot there (need the kitchen for a shot). I certainly woulnd't announce I was doing a shoot, but the home also wouldn't be entirely recognizable either. Nov 08 06 02:09 pm Link Clever idea, agreed... but asking the models/photog/stylists to break in with me is probably not a great way to build relationships. Nov 08 06 02:50 pm Link You know you could never get what you want by a quick snap and no set up. No, I don't know what that saying is so...Anyway... If you are set on the interior of a home look, I'm afraid you don't have too many options. One would be rental. Perhaps there is a studio you could look into for such a thing. Some specialize in a stylized setting in different rooms through out. Sometime its just an old house overhauled into a studio. Of course, if you know someone who lives in a unique home then your good to go. Here, look at my new avatar. This was shot in the model's apartment. I had no idea until I met her at her home that she had something nice like this. But it was a lighting set up too. I didn't just bang shoot it. Do you see? Do you think the man in that link I sent you does bang bang shooting at all? Of course not. Is that wrong, no. Do I do it, yes. But what look do you want? Strobe or natural, it's all about control. Here's a concept. People talk about "available light". I use stricktly available light. My strobes are available, my bounce is available, the sun is available, etc...Do you get it? Use any and every tool you have! Sorry I keep forgetting you're not the photographer. Be you're own Art Director. One day I was driving and I found a great location, but it was on private property. Guess what. If you ask you wont get your head shot off! Just ask! People, regular people, realize they have something beautiful and often agree to photoshoots. Just don't be bothersome and it should be fine. Maybe the town you live in has some abandoned buildings. Go to the township office and see what access priviledges you might have. ASK PERMISSION. It's a beautiful thing! Once I found an abandoned factory. A huge compound. I asked permission and they said "sure, np. We had a movie shoot there before" I never used it because it was the height of summer and the weeds were so thick I couldn't even see the building, so it got scrapped as a location. Anyway... just go out there and find something great, then ask. Why sneak around? I don't see the point. Good luck, Post the shots when they are ready. David Nov 08 06 07:06 pm Link How about using a wrinkled bed sheet backdrop and lots of caution tape? Throw in some angel wings & I think you might have something! Nov 08 06 08:47 pm Link Thanks, everyone...I have some really good ideas and insight. Nov 09 06 11:15 am Link |
