A Labor of Fashion
There was an evening in early summer when I was sitting in Matthew Tyldesley’s backyard discussing future photo shoot concepts. His backyard was in the process of being re-landscaped. I mentioned that it would be a great idea to do some type of fashion theme in his yard. Matt hesitated because he said that his yard was not finished. My response was that it was perfect, and that the concept would be that the models were doing actual yardwork, but with a very editorial and glamorous style. That is how our concept began, and the wheels were set in motion….
Photography – Josh Eskridge
For the photography and look of the shots, I wanted to do this set in the middle of the day with harsh sunlight. I would use high-powered strobes to match the power of the sun. For all of the sets, I used either a Paul Buff Einstein with a white beauty dish or a ringflash. This would give me a very spectral light that would provide good detail and contrast and that I could really bring out in Photoshop in a stylized way. As far as composition, I shot wide for most of the sets in order to stay true to the theme. I didn’t want to disregard the setting by shooting close-ups. There were plenty of compositional challenges with this…. yard ornamentation, power lines, etc. I did not intend to photoshop these elements out. I loved the challenge of harmonizing the model in their settings, but still composing in a way that boldly drew attention to them.
Hair – Matthew Tyldesley
“For this project I wanted to create a look that I thought would work, given the unconventional nature of the editorial. The look was soft, clean and with minimal volume and with soft waves using a 1-inch marcel iron using an off-base placement. The male model’s hair was styled with volume straight back using a Denman brush and gel. I hope the viewer feels excited, energized and seduced. Thermal heat-Stylers, as well as a lot of finishing hairsprays were vital for sustaining the shape of the hair, especially when dealing with the heat and humidity on that day. We had a great set of models for this collection and hairstyles were created to compliment each model’s features.” Matthew
Makeup – Isidro Valencia
“I approached elegance and simplicity in these looks, focusing on the intensity of color. I used dark eyeshadows and dramatic eyelashes, then I used nude lip colors and a touch of blush followed by bronzer all over the body, thus creating a radiant look.” Isidro
Wardrobe and styling – Matthew, Isidro and Josh
For the outfits, we wanted the swimsuits to be very styled, one-piece suits, that would match our editorial look. We created a Facebook group page weeks ahead of the shoot and collaborated finalizing the looks. The swimsuits had to be special ordered, as you would not find these at your local mall. The shoes were by Steve Madden and Vince Camuto. For our finalized look we wanted the models to have a very pristine and polished look that would contrast with the manual labor theme that we were going to be portraying.
“A Labor of Fashion” was published in the 2013 “Indian Summer” Issue of Vigorè Magazine. The issue can be accessed by clicking the link below.
http://issuu.com/vigore/docs/vigore_magazine_september_2013
