As a photographer, I love seeing how other photographers work and learning what was involved in getting ‘the shot’. As a result, I thought I would share some of the ‘secrets’ behind the scenes at the Luma Collection photoshoot.
We chose the lovely shore town of Stone Harbor, NJ as our backdrop. Kate and I arrived the night before to scout out locations and do a few test shoots. Ideally, we would have done the location scout at the same time of day as the actual shoot, but it was a beautiful golden hour evening and I thought it was nice to have pregnant Kate as my stand in.
October is the off season for the Jersey shore and it was quiet, cold, and windy on the beach the morning of the shoot. It was also a cloudy day, which was perfect for a natural light session. I did have my location light kit on hand if needed, but I was thrilled – and grateful – to not have to lug the lights onto the sand!
Courtney was not only one of the designers, she was also the creative director, stylist, and photo assistant. I wish I had taken more photos of Courtney during the shoot, especially when she was holding my light reflector. It was so windy that if she had been harnessed to it she could have parasailed over the water! MaryAnn, our model, was so amazing through it all, wearing only a simple long sleeve cotton top and the Stone Point poncho, you would never have known she was freezing!
I thought I would save the best behind the scenes image for last. Kate was also an excellent photo assistant, stylist, and creative director. We moved to the bayside for the shots of Gull Island to get away from the ocean ‘breeze’.
A large reflector was the only light modifier needed and I rented a 105mm lens which I have since purchased after using it for this shoot. Although I have been taking most of the yarn, swatching, samples, and other relevant photos in-studio for Kelbourne Woolens since beginning last summer, this was my first time photographing a full collection for them. Kate and Courtney like to keep things simple and focus mostly on the actual knitwear in their shoots, so I was a little worried with such a small team on hand – and two pregnant ladies as my assistants, no less! – but we were all very pleased with the final images!
