I finally got the images back from the online catalog shoot I did about a month or two ago and so I decided to do a post about my experience on that shoot as well as share the photos.49 Square Miles is a handbag and accessories company based out of San Francisco. They may be small in size but their products are popular, especially among the celebrities--even one of George W. Bush's daughters was photographed sporting one of their handbags. They have retail stores all over the country, which is pretty impressive. I myself never really got all hyped up about purses or handbags but once I saw their collection, I must say I got pretty giggly with excitement. 49 Square Miles was in need of models to showcase their Fall collection of handbags, leather belts, and accessories and I was one of the lucky people to be chosen. The shoot took place at the home of the founder of the company, who was located only 15 minutes away from where I lived. Regardless of the closeness of the shoot, I still had to be there bright and early at 7am. Ugh. Haha.
I was one of four models total and there was a makeup/hair stylist and one photographer who had an assistant with him. The owner of 49 Square Miles was there as well--it's her house we're shooting in after all! She made sure we had plenty of fresh fruit and bottled water on hand (and we were also served yummy deli sandwiches for lunch) and the wardrobe stylist, who was also one of the employees working for 49 Square Miles, began putting our outfits together while we took turns in the makeup chair. The weather was perfect and there were a number of locations to shoot. The first location was outdoors in the backyard. Each model took turns shooting solo images with the photographer, Toby Burditt, and then we were paired up or had up to three models in one shot. We were given the latest handbags, necklaces, and wallets to show off. The yellow dress I was put in was nicknamed the "Michelle Obama" so we had fun joking about that.
Then it was on to outfit change number two: a more casual pairing of dark jeans, black pumps, and a maroon top with one of the leather belts and handbags. I was paired with another model and the phone she's holding in the shot actually belongs to the photograher. We were looking and reacting to the adorable pictures of his kids. Afterwards we switched things up. Tobby Burditt is one of those talented photographers who thinks outside of the box and he came up with this out of the ordinary shot where I sat on a bench while the other model stood on top of it but he only shot her from the waist down. After shooting those locations we moved inside for interior shots.
I changed into a multicolored, slinky dress, secured with another belt, and paired with the same black pumps and a different handbag. It was funny because for each setup, we created a "scenario" to help us get into the mood and elicit certain reactions. They were mostly goofy. We labeled the first interior shot "The Devil Wears Prada" because the model I shot with looked a lot like the Meryl Streep character from that movie so she played the role of my nightmare boss and I was the lowly--yet fashionable--intern who was forced to sit on the floor and drown out her drunken rants by listening to my Ipod, while my higher than thou boss got to sit in a comfy chair (I eventually got to sit in a chair lol). To make things more ridiculous they added a drink glass for her to hold and so I came up with the idea that I was at her house party and she was super drunk so I had to watch over her. We couldn't stop laughing after each photo they took.
By the time we got around to one of the last shots, we'd been shooting for over 8 hours so it was a super long day. My last scene also involved another model and because we were pretty tired by this time, we decided to label this scenario "lesbian lovers." I know, we're terrible! Trust me, after shooting for hours, everyone eventually starts going downhill in the creativity department haha. Wackiness ensued as we shot but at least I got to lie down on the couch. The shoes I was wearing weren't mine and they were two sizes too small so I was grateful I didn't have to be on my feet!
It was a long but very productive shoot and as a bonus we each got a complimentary makeup bag from the upcoming Fall collection (honestly, I couldn't afford any of their products--definitely high end stuff!). The images are supposed to be on the website (http://www.49sqmi.com/) by the end of July or sometime in August. I'm definitely excited to see what images they chose to put up.
