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Following an OC Model
Behind the scenes with an OC Model!
Behind the scenes at the Bailey Blue photo shoot with Orange County model Whitney Waite…..
This Saturday after an early morning surf session I headed down a windy dirt path to where the Bailey Blue photo shoot would take place. Nicole Walmsley, the makeup artist, was already there prepping our OC native Whitney Waite; and Chris Frawley, the photographer for the day, was busy getting the studio ready for the shoot. Jaclyn Wishnow, the woman who threw the whole thing together was calling in telling us she was running a little bit late but to go ahead with the makeup. When she turned up 5 minutes later with all the clothes and 2 Gelson's bags, which was a yummy lunch, the show really got on the road.
So Bailey Blue is a clothing company Jaclyn and her sister Randy started in 2002, the brand is sold nationwide in major department stores. The photo shoot on Saturday was for the Spring 2010 look book. Look books are normally handed out in showrooms or shown to potential buyers during market, which in LA is in a week!
Normally at a photo shoot you have a model, a makeup artist, a photographer (and assistant), and the creative director or stylist. The makeup artist get's to the model when she's still in her street clothes, and get's to work on enhancing the models features. Her job is also to make sure the makeup and hair look good in the shoot. So Nicole, our makeup artist, was constantly jumping in and out of the frame doing little touch ups on makeup and hair.
Jaclyn, who was the stylist of the day, was also jumping in and out of shot's pinning clothes so that they fit better, adding a accessory, adjusting a strap etc. She decided what was shot next, how the hair would go, what shoes and accessories …etc… for fashion show and really high-end shoot's they'll prep it all before and take Polaroid's of the different looks they will be shooting for the day. Jaclyn's other job was to work with the photographer, Chris, and decide how the images were to be cropped, what mood they were going for etc…. Her before the shoot job was the organization of the whole event, finding a location, photographer and makeup artist that would all be available on the same day and then making sure all the clothes were ready, that day too.
Chris, the photographer, did a lot of physical labor the day of the shoot. Setting up the studio for a look book is more complicated then it sounds. First all the light's and camera gear have to be set up and then a large piece of white paper has to be set up for the floor and background of the shoot. When Chris is shooting he has to keep an eye out for the loose, odd crinkle, etc... A good photographer notices the small details and really helps the clothes and the model look there best. When Chris took a picture it automatically showed up on his Mac book where he could review it and make little marks on the ones he thought were the best. After his picture taking, someone normally does small touch up work fixing minor details so that everything looks perfect.
Last but not least is the models job. Not only does she have to have a good body and face but she also has to know how to work it all. A good model knows an array or facial expressions that look good, from sweet and sultry to pageant ready smiles… One thing people don't realize is how much practice it takes to make all these looks naturally and make sure your eyes are open in the bright lights. Whitney was great at all of this, she was born and raised in Irvine and now lives in San Clemente, her natural ease must be from growing up in Orange County! Whitney also did a great job at switching up the poses for the photographer and she was an expert makeup subject too anticipating what Nicole needed her to do.
Depending on how many looks, makeup and hair changes there are, a shoot can take from a few hours to a full day… and I'm assuming even a few days if your doing a crazy Vogue shoot. When everything is done there is still the clean up, the taking down and putting away of the photo equipment, the makeup and the clothes. While it sounds like fun and games a photo shoot is a lot of work, it can be a lot of fun too but in the end everyone is still trying to get there job done.
Bailey Blue
Chris Frawley
Nicole Walmsley
Whitney Waite
