Photographer: Conrad Lee (Conrad Lee Photography)
Model: Katie Gould
MUA: Katy Watts (KW make up artist)
Styling: Rimante Razauskaite
Assistants: Cas Wilkins
Videography: Cas Wilkins
So.. my vision for the ethereal beach shoot finally came true. It was something in my mind since very early days of my portrait photography journey. My idea was a fashion editorial with white summer dresses, with the model sitting on a chair at low tide on the beach. See my previous blog on this.
I have been planning this set for weeks, finding the right time, location, model, make-up artist, clothes etc etc was indeed challenging. Considering we are shooting in England (where is rains quite a lot), planning an out-door shoot is even more difficult.
I was lucky enough to have met Katy Watts at a previous model shoot. Katy is a fantastic hair and make-up artist based in East Sussex, and we discussed the shoot weeks ahead. I had several very interesting days out looking in vintage and second hand stores for props for the shoot. Which reminds me of another disappointing moment when the shop keeper agreed to lend me this lovely wicker chair, but only to find out later it’s been sold the day before.. Nevertheless, I did not give up, dragging my friends out to look for the “right” chair for the shoot. The whole process was actually great as looking around give me tons of new inspirations.
The model I had in mind has always been long blonde / light brunette hair that lets the sun shines through. Someone with a soft innocent look. I found a model that perfectly suited my descriptions and all was set for the shoot.
The timing was difficult, as I needed a low tide in the evening close to sunset. This happens twice a month.. and the chances it falls perfectly into a weekend so everyone is available made it an even narrower window.
As the weeks went by and time was close to the shoot, the weather turned on me.. i kept checking on the weather, sometime it would say heavy rain, sometimes it would say part cloudy.. I could do with part cloudy.. but heavy rain would make it almost impossible to do the shoot.
I went and brought the dresses to shoot with.. but on the day before the shoot, our model unfortunately fell ill and had to cancel. I began to worry… a lot. How will I find someone the same size and look in just an evening… I posted a cast for a model in our local community facebook group, and to my surprise, there were many people interested. Although some have never modeled before, I thought why not give it a go. Overnight I became ill aswell with flu and fever. On the morning of our shoot, the model who signed up cancelled, again I was back to square one. I Luckily I had been in contact with Katy, another model who was interested, and thank goodness she were free and was keen to shoot. I went and picked up the props and it was cold, raining and windy.. I began to regret my decisions.. maybe I should have cancelled.. but at the same time I was super excited for this challenge.
We met up at a carpark next to the location, and boy, I was happy to see the sun shining through the clouds and the sea calm. Katy began to put on the make-up. I showed Katy my moodboard but let her use her own creativity for the make-up. I saw Katie (our model) transform before my eyes like morphing butterfly. The makeup was perfect to my vision, with soft and whimsical pink cheeks.
When Katie had the white dress and sat in the beautiful white wicker chair surrounded by two vintage garden lamps, I got goosebumps. It felt a bit like in a dream, but it was real. I’ve been picturing this for months. Although Katie hasn’t done any modeling before, she was a natural. She took directions extremely well and she was humble. The teamwork was tremendous, and they really look after Katie on the set with blankets, hot tea etc. (I can’t thank you guys enough! Cas, Rimenta. Katy, Selena, Maxine and of course Katie’s mother Lynne!)
The weather was a blessing throughout the shoot. We had sunshine and cloud, then during our second outfit, the storm clouds came and created this dramatic scene. Then came thunder and lightning across the English Channel, and finally a big double rainbow. (You can imagine how excited the whole team was to see this scene unfold!). Not a single raindrop landed on us. I showed some pictures from the back of the camera to Katie's mum and when she saw her daughter on that screen, she began to cry with joy. She couldn't believe it was her daughter. To see that emotion was priceless and I knew I have achieved what we came for in this shoot. We packed up at around 7pm and we had all the shots we’d hoped for. As we packed up in the car, the heavy rain fell. What perfect timing!
Here is a behind the scenes video that my good friend and videographer made (using just a smartphone!) I hope you enjoy these. Please like my fb page for updates. :)