Studio happenings, photography, mood boards, and weekend reading. Here's your dose of Sunday Stories to feed your head and inspire your heart. This week: the best camera for you, Orlando (no not that Orlando), and drop-dead gorgeous photo sessions.
It was a picture-perfect (pun intended) week in the Virtual and Self-Portrait Studios. Creative projects went off without a hitch, we knocked it out of the park with stunning editorial sessions, and the self-portrait challenge is finally underway. Plus, we've signed on to a new brand partnership you'll love. If you've been wishing for an inside peek into the who, how, and why of virtual photography, your wish has been granted.
Inside the Self-Portrait Studio, we've laid the groundwork for weekly sessions to begin. Members have learned exactly just how powerful their iPhone camera really is and they've also begun developing their unique points of view as self-portrait artists. This week we completed the first of eight challenges. Members were asked to share straightforward, minimal portraits. These are perhaps the most difficult to create because you have nowhere to hide. It is just you and the camera. They brought so much heart to the challenge, surprising themselves and garnering supportive encouragement from one another. Even in these early days, I can see their unique style and eye for detail developing, and we still have seven more weeks to go! In the Virtual Studio, we've been shooting drop-dead gorgeous editorial and portrait photography for women who run defined personal brands — virtually, using iPhone cameras. Yup, you heard that right. It's not always about the camera, friends, it's about nurturing your point of view and developing your eye. More on this in our Q's section below. Speaking of goodies below, this week we are focused on storytelling, and editorial imagery for brands. Plus, you'll get the first peek of our editorial session with Desha Peacock for her brand Sweet Spot Style. Scroll down to view her gallery and read her candid insight about the virtual photoshoot experience.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THIS WEEK'S GOODIES
Spotlight.
If you've been wishing for an inside peek into the who, how, and why of virtual photography, your wish has been granted.
I recently had the pleasure of creating elevated editorial photos for Desha Peacock's personal lifeSTYLE brand. When we first met, Desha expressed a desire to upgrade her life and business. In her words the new feel for the photography should be "lux", a word she defines as a feeling not a price tag. In this interview Desha shares insight into her personal goals, a renewed direction for her brand Sweet Spot Style, and gives you a window into her virtual photoshoot experience.
Focus.
New playlist drops next week for SS blog readers. Want the drop earlier? Subscribe.
Develop.
Sure, we could call our photo sessions “branding sessions” like everyone else. But unless you happen to be a bar of soap or delicious artisanal chocolate bar, you don’t need a branding session. Here’s why. Branding images typically fall under the category of commercial photography and refer to product shots — a sequence of photos that doesn’t necessarily tell a story. What you are really looking for are images that build a story, not organic coffee blends. At Goldenbrand Studio, we shoot “see it to believe it” editorial imagery for personal brands, and we do it all virtually. Here’s what editorial-style photography is and why you’ll love it for your next photoshoot.
Tone.
Weekly curated moodboards from Lisa, primary photographer at GBS and your personal creativity catalyst.
You know how much I love a good story. I am are enamored with Barbie Ferreira's Orlando theme photoshoot for Who What Wear.
Known for her role as Kat Hernandez in the HBO series Euphoria, Barbie shines in this homage to Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando, a satirical biography, which spans almost 400 years in the lifetime of its protagonist. Woolf allowed neither time nor gender to constrain her writing. The protagonist, Orlando (played brilliantly by the metamorphic Tilda Swinton), ages only thirty-six years and changes gender from man to woman.
“I love that the movie itself is very ideal in that way, where this character just transforms and everyone comes to accept it,” Ferreira says. And we happen to agree. As for the photos, we love everything, the stylized lighting, the costumes, the baroque-inspired images, and of course the story behind the photos.
Photographers Choice.
I can't think of anyone better to tell Pricilla's side of the story. Take it away Sophia.
Sarah Wood's heartfelt and relatable tale of the End of Butterflies. A must read.
Let's ignore each other in the same room.
The new season of the Great British Bakeoff is here. Enough said.
I LOVE this guide to partitioning your workspace in an open-plan home.
Veggies and wannabe veggies — here's what's for dinner this week.
Your Q's.
Q. I would like to start taking more photos, what camera do you recommend?
A. What camera do you already own? Use that camera, then take the time you would have spent researching cameras and use it to find your voice and point of view as a photographer.
What type of photos do you want to take? There are hundreds of photography types to choose from. Here are a few ideas to get you started; photo journalism, editorial, glamor, architectural, self-portraiture, newborn, weddings, interiors, urban street photography…click here for more ideas. Next identify styles of photography you love, bright and airy, moody, stylized, minimal, surrealism, black and white… Put them all together in a mood board to clearly define your style then start shooting. Don't wait for clients. Instead self-assign projects you love and share them with joy. If you love them we will love them too. Once you've done these steps you'll know exactly what kind of camera you need to search for. It may just be the one already in your pocket.
