The Fashion Sections First Photo Shoot

Today marked the first photo shoot for the fashion blog I write for, The Fashion Section.
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TFS is working towards publishing its first online magazine, something which will be coming out seasonally to showcase the up and coming fashion season. I will be writing an article for the magazine (due out around the 4th of March, in time for LMFF) and will post about that closer to the date.

My involvement on the photo shoot was the first of a kind for me. My photo shoots with 2wo 7even 8ight were very different experiences. This shoot involved models, styling (both fashion and shot composition), working with often difficuly natural lighting at several outdoor locations across Melbourne.

I found a had quite a lot of confidence working with the models. I think it helped that none of us had really done this before! (The models were friends of the TFS editor) and I was working with another photographer. I was able to suggest movements and positions to the models and other photographer as we styled the photos on the various locations (including Docklands, Hosier Lane and The Botanical Gardens, locations that had been previously chosen). As the models were getting changed The other photographer, Molly, and I would move onto the next location to scout out angles, lighting and begin working on the composition of the images.

I was also able to comment and contribute to the fashion styling. The garments and outfits and previously been decided by the editor however I was able to contribute on suggestion to accessories, shoes, hair and extra items such as jackets as I used my creative eye to think about composition and making each photograph slightly different to previous ones.

All in all this was a fantastic experience! I have always had a passion for photography, however being scared of losing this passion I have never wanted to make it my living. This was the perfect trade off and I can't wait for the next TFS shoot as I learn more! (There will no doubt be a Photoshop post to come as I edit the photos also....)

Working on positioning and posing with the models

Styling one of the models

A Very Big Day Out as a Publicity Runner

I was fortunate enough to gain a fabulous experience working as a publicity runner at Melbourne Big Day Out 2013. Having done some volunteer work at Stereosonic 2012 in Melbourne this wasn't my first time experiencing the back end of a festival however this was a whole new experience for me.

This role started the day before the festival with some minor set up duties. It was great to get out to the site early and start orientating myself. It was all minor tasks such as setting up the media room and being briefed by our supervisors. There was a team of 6 of us and only two of us were on the site on this first day so it also became our role to brief the others come the morning of the festival.

On the festival day we arrived on site at 9am to finalise the media room. This was a pretty simple task, just making sure it was an enticing environment, setting up the refreshment area, putting set lists and site maps on the walls as well as any notifications about what bands could be photographed and when to make sure there was no confusion. All of this info was on the check in desk however to avoid any confusion (or sneaky illegal photos) this message was reiterated throughout the tent.

During the day I introduced myself to a number of music media professionals. I wanted to feel orientated in the room and be able to point anyone out should it be required of me. I was fortunate enough to meet journalists and photographers from a number of local and international publications including Beat Mag, Tonedeaf and Fairfax. I also chatted to a few people from overseas including a Canadian, based on Tokyo, working as a street style photographer for a New York webpage (Style Sight). Street style and this type of journalism is something I am really interested in so it was great to meet someone working in this field. It was also very motivating as she is obviously a very industrious person. She realised no one covered Australia for the sight so took it upon herself to make that happen.

The day was filled with a lot of errand running and general tasks like this. One task which was rather thrilling involved freshly signed instruments by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Despite the obvious reasons for this being fantastic it was also a good lesson in having black up plans and thinking on your feet. The instruments had been given to the band in Sydney however they didn't get signed until the band had arrived in Melbourne. They needed to go to the Sydney head office for secure storage rather than finish off the tour the the band. Naturally it was hoped the instruments would be singed in Sydney and this wouldn't be a problem. As always things didn't go to plan. This meant working out the safest way of getting these instruments, worth a pretty penny, from Melbourne to Sydney. On a Saturday that happened to be the start of a long weekend. This mean hunting down information on accounts BDO have with a courier company, discussing options on delivery and pick up directly from the festival site, working out costs including weight (without scales) and size, packaging the instruments so they were secure, finding the least expensive option and looking at pick up options such as leaving them with the hotel staff to be picked up on the Tuesday after the long weekend once the staff have moved to the next state. Being apart of this process certainly taught me about thinking on your feet, covering all bases, asking the right questions and being able to think of realistic alternatives very quickly.

All in all Big Day Out was fantastic. Meeting many members of the media, being exposed to the back end of the festival, furthering me media relations and publicity skills and of course catching some of the festival!

278 Shoot Number 2: Aunty Donna

My second shoot with 278 happened on a fine and sunny morning and also showed the benefits of having a plan b!

The shoot featured the comedy trio known as Aunty Donna. Everything had been organised to take place at the back of a studio known to the producer and founder of 278, Britta. Sadly upon arrival things had changed and there was no way the shoot would be able to take place at this location. This meant a quick scouting of the area!

This was a good opportunity for me to spend a little more time being able to get to know the subjects. As they are comedians they all have strong but very different personalities. It also became very apparent to me that they are all very good mates. I think having this time to speak with them and watch them interact helped me understand what they were going to be like to work with a bit better, which in turn helped me to chat to them about what I wanted from them as we were taking the shots.

The new location was at a local park/sporting field...in front of a public toilet. Britta's line to me was "If you can make a public toilet look good I will be very happy with you!" I don't know if I did that or not, I really just tried to avoid it all together, or in one instance I got the comedians to make a joke out of it!

Working with a trio rather than one subject made for a different experience to the previous shoot. My confidence really improved and I was able to get the guys to interact with our surroundings and each other to try and come up with some interesting shot compositions that reflected their work and their relationships with each other.