Posts tagged ‘behind the scenes’
BRIGHT SPARKS
Purple and green metallic dress, Lalla X RR.
NEON has emblazoned so many runways this Spring. In these precarious times, it’s great to get some heart sizzling colour in our lives! So, one cold Saturday morning in February, we met up at Lesley’s studio and created this. I love the movement, angles and the fantastic make-up by Keti that really completed the super bold look!
Purple and green metallic dress with feather skirt, Lalla X RR.
Pink Jumpsuit, Goddiva. Yellow neon scarf, Figleaves.
Pink Jumpsuit, Goddiva. Yellow neon scarf, Figleaves. Lime snake pattern sandals, Zara.
Orange dress, Mistress Rocks. Vegan trainers, M&S.
Orange dress, Mistress Rocks.
Striped, metallic knit sweater and skirt, Miss Red. Blue metallic hoops, Forever 21. Metallic blue courts, Bon Prix.
Hot pink sweater, Zara. Visor, Wrangler. Hoop earrings, Forever 21.
Hot pink sweater, Zara. Hoop earrings, Forever 21. Metallic blue shoes, Bon Prix.
Lime green dress, Goddiva.
Lime green dress, Goddiva. Silver courts, Bon Prix.
Blue shift dress, Miss Red. Metallic blue courts, Bon Prix. Scarf, Bon Marche.
Fashion Stylist – Becky John
Photography – Lesley Edith at Adrenelin Photographic
Hair & Make- Up – Keti Nikolova at Adrenelin Photographic
Model – Omolola at First Model Management.
LAST OF THE SUMMER WHITE
White Dress by River Island.
There’s nothing like a British summer! I know this shoot looks all sunny and effortless but behind the scenes we were dodging the rain, rushing for cover in between each shot. The location, a beautiful country house in Essex complete with rolling lawns and meadows was perfect for this boho style shoot. I love this look with its white flowing cotton and lace and really hoping for an Indian Summer so were can wear it a little longer – I’m not ready for heavy autumnal layers just yet…
White Dress by River Island. Boots by Hotter Shoes.
Textured top by Zara. Shorts by H&M.
Lace top by River Island. Shorts by H&M. Boots by Hotter Shoes. Cowboy hat, stylist’s own!
Lace top and duster coat by New Look. Shorts by H&M. Sunglasses by Rayban. Boots by Hotter Shoes.
White lace dress by River Island.
White lace dress by River Island. Bralette by Primark.
Hat and dress by Rokit Vintage.
FASHION STYLIST – BECKY JOHN. PHOTOGRAPHY – IAN HOOTON. HAIR & MAKE-UP – AMANDA ROBBINS. MODEL – MILOU GORT.
SWEPT AWAY
Cold shoulder top, New Look. Shorts, H&M.
When most people think of fashion shoots, they always imagine they’re terribly glamorous. Well, I’m afraid it’s not always the case. Working in fashion, you’re constantly shooting out of season. Our poor models are always baking in faux fur coats in the middle of Summer or freezing to death in bikinis in the depth of Winter.
Another myth is that we’re always jetting off to somewhere amazingly exotic – maybe Bali, Maldives or Fiji? No such luck, this time I was heading for the not quite so sunny Kent!
Dungeness is one of the most unusual places I have ever visited with its barren flat landscape and nuclear power station. On the plus side, this beachside location does have amazing light. Unfortunately for our crew, we plumped for the coldest, windy day ever – It must have been over 20 knots. I felt chilled to the bone even in all my layers of sweaters and puffa jacket. How our amazing model Ishika kept her act together in these flimsy cotton and lace little numbers I’ll never know. But she did, not complaining once as the wind practically blew her hair away. What a trooper! Anyhow all is forgotten when we look back at the pics. I love them and can now only think warm thoughts!
Ruffle top, and shorts, and sunglasses all by River Island.
Kimono and crochet dress, Primark. Bikini and sunglasses, New Look.
Bodysuit, Bershka. Lace duster coat, River Island. Sandals, Boden.
FASHION STYLIST – BECKY JOHN, PHOTOGRAPHER – IAN HOOTON, HAIR & MAKE-UP – ANNA DURSTON, MODEL – ISHIKA AT NEVS
GIRL POWER !
Geometric Print Vest, from £9.00
Fantastic to see Marks & Spencer are doing a brand new activewear collection for girls. So as you can imagine, I was really excited to style this shoot for them. It’s a fabulous range for 5-14 year olds with vibrant geometric print vests, dip-dye leggings and slogan tops. All the sportswear pieces are made from an ultra-light elastane blend that sits close to the skin and helps regulate the body temperature. I think the fitnesswear looks amazing and the little models on the shoot really enjoyed wearing it. What a great incentive for kids to keep fit, active and healthy.
Short Sleeve, Dance Top, from £10.00. Dip Dye Leggings, from £10.00
Short Sleeve, Dance Top, from £10.00
Cropped Geometric Print Top, from £9.00 and matching leggings from £10. Black cotton rich hooded jacket, from £20.
Panel Detail Vest, from £9.00. Cotton Rich Sport Leggings, from £10.00
Geometric Print, Cropped Top, from £9.00 and matching leggings, from £10.
Team Win Sports Top, from £9.00. Sports Panel Leggings, from £10.00
Geometric Print Vest, from £9.00
PHOTOGRAPHY – OLIVER SYMONS THOMAS, FASHION STYLIST – BECKY JOHN, HAIR & MAKE-UP – JO BULL
KIDS FASHION – EN POINTE
Freya wears leotard, £20, 0-13Y, Angel’s Face. Diamante tulle skirt, from £30, 4-13Y, Baker by Ted Baker at Debenhams. Feather headdress, £175, Astrobohemia at Etsy
Our beautiful ballet story was dreamt up in a coffee shop in Soho. Whilst idly chatting over a cappuccino about all sorts of things, from our children’s dance shows, to enthusing about Sia’s video for song ‘Chandelier’ and the fabulous sheer organza fashion in the latest issue of Vogue, photographer Helen Marsden and myself realised we’d come up with a rather lovely theme for a kid’s shoot. A sort of mad Swan Lake at home.
Like many girls, I’ve always loved ballet and took lessons from aged 2 until I was a teenager. But felt this shoot shouldn’t be exclusively girly. Things have dramatically changed since I was little when it was seen as quite extraordinary for boys to do ballet. My Father was bemused when my brother Jonathan pleaded to do classes. His reaction was very similar to the Dad in Billy Elliot – “No son of mine is going to be a bloody ballet dancer!”
Luckily opinions are so different now. Premier league footballers, front-row rugby players even heavy weight boxers are all at it. It’s an amazing discipline for core strength, agility and flexibility. The boys in our shoot were as proud of their fabulous barre work as we were of them!
There was a flurry of excitement at the shoot. The children loved dressing up in tutus, feather headdresses and wings. They had such fun, leaping and pirouetting over the furniture in Helen’s beautiful house. I’m thrilled with the pics as were Little London Magazine who used the story in this month’s issue. What lovely team work – Bravo us! We should all take a bow.
Bram wears candy striped shirt, £84, and Arthur wears white shirt, £74, both 4-10Y, Little Wardrobe London. Both boys wear vests, £5.90, 3-11Y, UNIQLO. Dance leggings and ballet shoes throughout by Dancia International.
Poppy wears lilac frilled tutu dress, from £56, 0-13Y, Angel’s Face at Childrensalon. Freya wears silver zipped hoodie, £57.50, 4-14Y, Eleven Paris. Grey and ivory chiffon tutu skirt, from £36, 0-13Y, Angel’s Face at Childrensalon.
Meg (in foreground) wears pale pink tulle dress, £71, Billieblush and beaded headband, £18, Carrement Beau both at House of Fraser. Isabella (in middle) wears pink sequin tulle dress with fuchsia waistband, from £44, 12M-14Y, Baker by Ted Baker at Debenhams. Freya (at back) wears pale pink silk dress with fuchsia trim at neckline, £195, 3-12Y, Marie-Chantal.
Bram wears metallic top, £48.75 and silver leggings, £14.95 both 4-16Y, Smallable.
Meg wears pale blue organza dress from £125, 3-12Y, Caramel Baby & Child. Isabella wears pale blue lace dress with sash, £145, Little Wardrobe London. Diamante headband, £18, Wild & Gorgeous.
Meg wears pale blue organza dress, from £125, 3-12Y, Caramel Baby & Child.
Isabella wears pale blue lace dress with sash, £145, 4-10Y, Little Wardrobe London. Diamante headband, £18, Wild & Gorgeous.
Arthur wears white cotton shirt, £38, 3-12Y, Jacadi. White vest, £5.90, 3-11Y, UNIQLO. White combat trousers, £125, 2-14Y, Stone Island Junior. Feather wings, £10.47, Amazon. Meg wears metallic jumpsuit, £79, 2-15Y, Wild & Gorgeous. Beaded headband, £18, Carrement Beau at House of Fraser.
Isabella wears pale pink satin pussy bow blouse, £49 and maxi tulle skirt, £112, both 4-10Y, Little Wardrobe London. Isabella wears ivory sparkly dress, £75, 2-9Y, Le Mu. Headdress from a selection from Astrobohemia at Etsy.
Meg wears taupe, sequin say dress, £149, 4-10Y, Little Wardrobe London. Poppy wears gold lace and net dress, £117, 6-10Y, Le Mu.
PHOTOGRAPHY : HELEN MARSDEN, FASHION STYLIST : BECKY JOHN, HAIR & MAKE-UP : ROSE ANGUS
MODELS : FREYA, POPPY, MEG, & ISABELLA from GRACE & GALOR and ARTHUR & BRAM
Behind the Scenes of our beautiful shoot. Top Left, Freya adjusts amazing Astrobohemia headdress. Top Right, The girls relax in between shots in the dressing area. Bottom left, Rails and rails of fabulous clothes. Bottom right, Make-Up artist Rose perfects the ballet look on Poppy.
Thanks to Freya & Poppy’s lovely Mum Jodie for the behind the scene pics.
KIDS FASHION – THE HAMPTONS PHOTO SHOOT
When I was asked to style a kidswear shoot the client called ‘The Hamptons’ I imagined jetting off to New York State. No such luck I’m afraid, this time the budget didn’t quite stretch to an overseas trip. So if we couldn’t go to The Hamptons, The Hamptons would have to come to us!
We ended up in an East London studio that became our base. I was sure it would all pull together and look amazing as I was working with such a fantastic team. First of all, set builders constructed a whitewash, weatherboard backdrop and then it was up to me to find some really eye catching props that would make the images come alive.
The day before the shoot I headed off to ‘Propland’ – the name in the trade we give to an area in West London where all the furniture and prop hire houses are situated. Soon I was elbow deep in all types of seaside and Americana paraphernalia – flags, bunting, binoculars, sailboats and starfish! I remembered that there were also some lovely kids’ stripy deckchairs in my daughter’s Wendy house that would come in handy too.
It was fun doing a day ‘propping’, usually I’m trampling up and down The West End sourcing clothes for editorial shoots, but as it was a shoot for well known brand Mothercare all the lovely nautical clothes were supplied by them!
The big shoot day arrived and we had such a gorgeous array of little models ranging from 14 months to 8 years old. Ross, our photographer is always brilliant at making the kids laugh so I knew the pictures would look really animated and lively!
The trickiest part of the shoot was the group shot. It was challenging getting all 6 infant school kids in a line, looking in the same direction and smiling all at once. The children’s clothes and hair had to look just right too so lovely make-up artist Freya and myself had to madly rush in and perfect the look in between each shot.
Working with kids is exhausting and I’m always ready for a G&T at the end of the day. But it’s totally worth it as you can see by these fabulous pictures – That’s a shore thing!
PHOTOGRAPHER – ROSS BOLGER, FASHION STYLIST – BECKY JOHN, HAIR & MAKE-UP – FREYA DANSON-HATCHER and ROSE ANGUS, CLOTHES – MOTHERCARE
BEHIND THE SCENES AT SHOWGIRL SHOOT – GLEMHAM HALL
It was a chilly winters day when we arrived early in Glemham Hall, a magnificent stately home, in the heart of Suffolk. The team – photographer Richard Burns, Hair & Make-Up artist Sally Kvalheim, model Jessica from Models 1 and I, the stylist were all excited about our ‘showgirl’ shoot.
Photo shoots always sound so glamorous and although I wouldn’t trade in my job for anything else, behind the scenes, the reality can be quite different ! The first task in the morning is lugging all the props, clothes and heavy photographic equipment into the location. Glemham Hall really is a huge rambling house, originally built in 1560 and is packed with eclectic furniture and priceless antiques. We were shooting in one of the upstairs wings so we had to do umpteen trips, schlepping equipment through the meandering maze of rooms.
Lingerie by Fauve Lingerie. Kimono by Beyond Retro
Eventually we chose a space which we used as our dressing room. I set up my rails and hung up all the gorgeous showgirl outfits, meanwhile Sally positioned her beauty quarters by a large window so she had the best possible light to do make-up and hair.
Whilst Sally was creating a fabulous look on model Jessica, Richard and I had a good look around Glemham Hall. How had he found this impressive location?
“When we first moved to Suffolk, we met other creative people who all said we should take a look at Glemham. I did and fell in love with it.” Explained Richard, “ I loved the faded grandeur, the rooms look opulent yet slightly crumbling in places. Photographically it really is a stunning place.”
Silk dress by Vera Mont
We weren’t the first photographic team to shoot here. In fact it has long been a favourite with Tim Walker, a hugely inspirational photographer whose breathtakingly beautiful and magically eccentric work has graced the pages of Vogue, Love and I-D.
Glemham Hall was the perfect theatrical backdrop for the shoot. I wanted the sense of silver screen glamour with our starlet ‘dressing up’ in silk lingerie through to dramatic satin, feather and sequin stage wear.
Lingerie by Dolci Follie, Shoes, Louboutin
Model, Jessica made the shots look effortless. You wouldn’t believe that most of the outfits had been so pinned down the back she could hardly move. Or the fact that it was so cold in our wing you could see your own breath! After every shot we would throw blankets over Jessica to try and stop her from turning blue!
Photographer Richard cleverly turned the cold, dull day to our advantage, balancing the daylight with artificial light for a beautiful radiant look.
All in all we were a great team and the shots look amazing. As we were leaving I couldn’t help but notice the wonderful garden and sculpture park. Perhaps we could shoot something fabulous in the grounds next summer. I do hope so – Fingers crossed.
Glemham Hall. All photography copyright Richard Burns