Behind the Scenes - Robe Photo Shoot
HONEST first thought about Robe's inaugural photo shoot? WHAT THE F*** AM I DOING?!!! I have NO idea about mood boards, creative direction, how to find a stylist, a model, hair & make-up (which is actually H&M for those of you not in the know...which I now CLEARLY am), photographer etc etc etc. Shit!!!!!!!
OK so this is what I have since found out:
MODEL - it's harder than you think. Jess was 'on' every second she was in front of the camera. In between? Fun, slightly goofy (in a ridiculously cute and refreshing way) and just lovely. And if you are wondering..... DOES SHE HAVE TO GET NUDE ON THE BEACH BETWEEN TAKES?.......not when you have a pop up change tent! FYI - a pop up change tent provides hours of entertainment and hilarity at the end of a shoot when everyone is deliriously tired and slightly hypoxic when you realise the massive tent has to go back into the tiny package it came in.
PHOTOGRAPHER - so amazingly creative and talented. Mine was seriously kick ass about all that crap I know nothing about...light, angles, light, space, oh and did I mention light??? Do not ever, however, offer to carry camera equipment the 100m from the carpark to the beach. Kayla Itsines, you got nothing.......
H&M - OK so I don't know about you but I clearly don't own enough make-up. The stuff used on the shoot came in a suitcase larger than one I would take on a four week holiday and trust me that is BIG! I have also realised I am not fussy enough about touch ups when I am out and about - My H&M girls touched up the already perfect Jess on average every 6 minutes. TOTAL RESPECT. While this kind of frequency would interfere with my champagne drinking in ordinary life I am now committed to touching up my make up at least once on a night out!
STYLIST- OK in the interests of full disclosure, I am so so jealous of stylists. My stylist had every bikini and swimsuit a girl could want and the perfect jewellery to accessorise with. Containers of jewellery. Large containers of jewellery. Oh and did I mention hats and shoes? A licence to shop - what a job!
LOCATION - Now why would I want to make this easy for my first shoot? NO NO NO..... I decided to add in the unpredictability of weather and do half the shoot on the beach. Awesome decision....maybe not. Result? First shoot - postponed due to SEVERE STORM and heavy rain. Second shoot - Day 1 cancelled after 2 hours due to SEVERE STORM and heavy rain!!! Fortunately day 2 was AMAZING. Half the shoot was in a luxury boutique resort that you can rent by the hour ....... who knew??! In all seriousness though Cabarita and Hastings Point were such beautiful beaches to shoot on and Newrybar Downs was just sensational. The colours, the light, the feel - everything (except the weather) was perfect.
WEATHER - I just can't talk about this anymore. I may cry.
TRANSPORT - The practicalities of moving 7 people + equipment + clothes + snacks + props and accessories without creasing, dropping, breaking or losing anything was, quite frankly, terrifying. Answer - a mobile clothes rack, several cars and a lot of generosity. Sadly my skills at putting together a mobile clothes rack are woefully inadequate and in the end we just used a tree. YEP A TREE. And you cannot underestimate the power of a steamer after screwing everything up into a ball and stuffing it into a waterproof bag after the skies decide to open up last minute. Gold.
OVERALL SUMMARY - I was completely blown away by the talent of the people involved, the professionalism and the enthusiasm for the project. I cannot wait to do it all again. Big shout out and thanks to The Art Work Agency for photography, Emma Chen and Reanin Glah for H&M, Georgia Rostagno for Styling and Jessica Cavallaro from Chic Management for modelling. Rain clouds - not such a fan thanks. xR
