Shooting product photography is less of a creative endeavor and more like careful coordination and checklists. With fashion or any type of clothing, you have to make sure you get a few shots of the front of the outfit, a few of the back, if there are any functional details — like a pocket — you have to make sure the model shows that. It takes a detailed eye to capture exactly what the customer is going to want to see, that will motivate them to click purchase, while also monitoring the background, making sure it's a good image. But when the detailed product shots are done, that's when the fun starts. Why not try storytelling and show the clothing being worn by fun, cool girls hanging out in a downtown loft apartment? Creating a 'look book' is a powerful tool for selling the lifestyle behind the brand.
When you're working with Amy of Sassafras, you can expect to have a great time no matter what the focus of the photoshoot! The Sassafras brand is for fun, vibrant independent women, and Amy always invites friends or customers of the store to be her models. Twyla is a jewelry designer, and Sherrell has helped out with hair and makeup on some of our previous shoots, and is a customer as well. She offered up her studio for this photoshoot and it provided a great backdrop — natural light streaming in through the tall windows and sheer curtains. It created an ambient, shadowy mood that lent itself nicely to the editorial images.
These shots are quintessentially Seattle: downtown loft, girls wearing gray clothing, a guitar in the background, a cup of tea. And what's truly fantastic is that we barely did anything to stage the looks. There's an authenticity that shines through when using real women in your editorial shoots, rather than professional models.
Oh, and Twyla actually does know how to knit.