Its Always Summer Somewhere - BTS
We Shot It's Always Summer Somewhere
Our shoot location was probably the coolest place I have ever been. Ever. It was seriously a "I am locking myself in the bathroom and never leaving even if it's the bathroom I have to live and sleep in" kind of place.
Set on 20 acres in the Byron Bay hinterland near Newrybar, this was movie set good. The owners planted the property in palms almost two decades ago so the gardens are beautifully established including a SERIOUS hedge of bougainvillea. And don't even get me started on the view...just breathtaking out to Byron Bay beach over sweeping hills and perfectly manicured lawns.
The house. Oh the house. Based on time spent by the owner in Greece, it is a mediterranean master piece. White washed walls, large sandstone coloured tiles and sweeping transparent white drapes everywhere. And oh the space - set over one level broken up by slightly varying levels (we're talking one or two steps) it is HUGE. I kept losing people and finding rooms!
And then there was the pool - perfect aqua, tiled throughout and beautiful palms. Bliss.
Ok so I have an unhealthy obsession with the house - what about the shoot!
Fanny Nylander - our beautiful model
We chose Fanny from seriously hundreds and hundreds of models. All beautiful, of course, but we had a really specific look we were after - and Fanny was perfect! I have to say, it is the weirdest thing looking for a model. All of them are stunning and I feel like a terrible person not choosing someone because of how they look. It just feels wrong. But interestingly, depending on the treatment plan and mood board, the actual look of a model is incredibly important. First and foremost for us was a health body image - tick, European with high cheekbones - tick (Fanny is Swedish and has seriously amazing cheekbones), blonde - tick (we used a brunette for our last shoot so wanted to mix it up a bit) and natural - tick.
Not only was fanny perfect, she was incredibly professional, fun to work with and just lovely. Nailed it! You can find Fanny's Instagram here.
Grace Elizabeth Images
This girl. Seriously. She is so talented and incredible to work with. We chose Grace because of her flare for editorial. Grace was heavily involved from the very beginning in the creative vision for the shoot. I LOVED this because she got it. Like immediately and worked really closely with me and our stylist, Jenni, in bringing our vision to life. The brief was European holiday. Because, as we say, it is always summer somewhere!
Throughout the shoot, Grace worked with Fanny, Jenni and me to ensure we were meeting our objectives for every single look. She was relaxed and happy throughout the day, and had an infectious enthusiasm. I promise you - you will be blown away by the final images. Which are coming very very soon. You can find Grace here.
Styling Perfection
We worked with Jenni Sellan again. Because we LOVE her. Because she is amazing at what she does. And because she is a lovely lovely human being. One of the best in fact.
Jenni was involved from the very beginning sourcing incredible swimwear, hats, shoes and jewellery. I can tell you she is incredibly dangerous to have around though as I want every single thing she pulls out! Such amazing taste. Jenni also does wardrobe workshops where she comes in and helps plan the perfect capsule wardrobe that is pared back and sophisticated so you always have something to wear. Cannot recommend working with this gem of a person enough!
Food, glorious Food
We LOVE Wild Sisters Catering - they use local produce and make super healthy tasty snacks and grazing platters. We have worked with Wild Sisters a number of times now - for our original launch in March last year, to our Christmas Party to this photo shoot where we were feeding 14 hungry adults and 3 even hungrier little kids. Every time I am impressed by their amazing service and divine food. They cater to Brisbane, Gold Coast and Northern NSW. Highly recommend!
The Robettes
This is the first collection in which we have made a Robe for our little Robettes. The Sophia is named after my daughter Sophia so I thought out was only right to create her her very own Robe - the Sophia Mini Me. And also, it was only right to get her to model it with her bestie, Coco.
These kids were seriously cute and giggly and excited. Having their Hair and Make Up done for the first time and posing for the camera. Cuteness overload!
Hair and Make Up
I can never fathom how difficult it is to get H&M right. It is super important and so very very hard. We worked with Ashlea Penfold as she is one of the best in her field. We were lucky enough to grab her in between a trip to the Maldives and a trip to Tulum. Lucky Ash! And her amazingly lovely and talented assistant Shannon was superb.
AND just because we are crazy - we got video content too
So I am super excited to let you guys know that we have got some incredible videos coming out very soon. We were lucky enough to work with Christie Sutherland who was captured by Talking Birds Media for the day to create some super fun and cool footage. Not telling you any more at this stage though because it is a surprise! Here are a couple of sneaky BTS though.
These amazing BTS Photos
A massive thank you to Flynn Graham for the incredible BTS shots that we have used in this blog. I think we can safely say you will agree that his work is incredible!
So I guess the only thing to do from here is release the collection! We promise it's happening soon! xx
