When the opportunity to photograph a number of editorials on the streets of New York City during the most fashionable week of the year arose, there was no point trying to challenge what would be an inevitable ‘yes’!
Working alongside a creative team of Australian creatives during Fashion Week, in August, the editorial stories were formed around the varying facets of Luomo Bridal’s latest SS16 collection, a Paddington-based couture designer. Naturally, they wanted to make the most of our time in NYC, so being the crazy people we are, we managed to shoot five stories in just two days.
A crazy schedule
We arrived on Sunday at 8pm at the hotel and our first shoot was scheduled for 7am the next morning. Scouting locations meant for some early starts, but when you are running on excitement and adrenalin, it’s amazing what the body can handle.
Organising models from the opposite side of the world was one of the hardest things on a number of accounts. The time difference meant we could never really engage in conversation; it was one message here and another a day later. We didn’t know whether the models would show up, despite showing interest and saying they would. We only had one model do a no-show.
Overcoming obstacles
Baggage limits ultimately dictated how much gear we could bring over. I wanted to test out my new Elinchrom Rangers, but having chosen locations that were quite public, at times it difficult enough using just two speedlites, let alone flash heads. So, we packed light, but with the use of external flash, the lighting nuances created were enough to give the images more depth without drawing too much attention to ourselves. OH&S Public Liability is a huge deal in the States, so it wasn’t worth the risk.
The people of New York are wonderful and we were lucky enough to have a chance meeting with a celebrated New York Times photographer outside his home in SoHo who happily passed on some additional location suggestions in the area. A hotel porter noticed what we were up to and stopped traffic for us in another instance, which was crazy. I’m sure we were lucky in this respect given it was the very first set up shot of the trip.
The story
Villains is a fashion story showcasing the confident, sensual designs of Luomo’s collection in a number of art deco, industrial, Gotham-style locations. Each model brought their own idea of femininity and sexuality to the shoots, and the images offer a siren, villainess, super hero feel when pieced together. The shots were captured throughout the city, including parts of Manhattan, SoHo, Williamsburg and Brooklyn.
The kit
I used Canon 5D Mark III in combination with the latest 24-70mm f/2.8L USM. For lighting, I relied on a combination of natural light mixed with up to two Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites, one of which was used specifically for rim and detail lighting, the other on a mono as fill.
The locations
We selected backdrops that were in part iconic New York to establish the context within the story and mixed this with industrial and architectural aspects to bring the attention back to the fashion.
Having Jamie, my assistant, was imperative in the organisation of the shoots as her knowledge of NYC, Brooklyn and Williamsburg was mind-blowing. Prior to leaving Sydney, we utilised Google Maps along with her knowledge to plan logistics - distances between locations and improvised in some instances where the lighting, scaffolding and other aspects were not ideal and as per our references found online.
The Team
Photography: Frank Farrugia
Logistics/Assistant: Jamie Palmer
Designer: Luomo Bridal
Milliner: Millinery by Heather McDowall
Makeup: Sabrina Melei
Hair: Natalie Wakim
Models: Natasha Bukley, Rebecca Faith Lawson, Leonie Traore, Anastacia Vilkova
