I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to do my first official styling gig only a few weeks after arriving in L.A. with über talented St. Paul girl Stephanie Hynes Photography for a lifestyle photoshoot to add to the L.A. Models portfolio for the lovely Rubina.
The goal of this shoot was to be fun and fresh. We wanted outdoor upbeat images of blowing bubbles, hula hooping in the backyard, and other fun party like activities.
I went shopping to find some fun, colorful, and youthful pieces. Since all of the clothing would need to be returned after the shoot, I had to choose my stores wisely. Forever21, for example, will only accept returns for store credit.
I shopped at Ross, OldNavy, Nordstrom Rack, and Target and had no problem returning everything after the shoot. Hiding the tags was a bit of an adventure, but worked out in the end!
Follow my experience below! :)
See the final shots of my styling on my stylist portfolio page here!
This is a fun top I picked up at Ross for $14. We ended up not using it but I liked it because of the bright color and subtle print. My plan was to fold the bottom under to make a crop top for the model to wear with jean shorts and a bright and fun statement necklace! The necklace is from OldNavy and was $20. Jean shorts are mine and are also OldNavy.
This is a fun dress that I found at OldNavy on sale for $20. You can't really tell in this photo, but the color is super bright and fun. This was actually one of my favorite Crayola Crayon colors back in the day and the shade is 'Jungle Green'. The jewelry is also from OldNavy and was around $8-$20 per piece. The denim jacket is OldNavy as well for $30. While I love the look of the bright white against the green in real life, I discovered at the shoot that it didn't photograph well. The white was just TOO white and affected the light balance in the photo. Lesson learned. :) We did not end up using this dress or jewelry in the shoot, but we did take a few photos with the jacket.
This dress is from OldNavy and was used in the shoot along with the cropped jean jacket. The dress and jacket were $30 each and the necklace was from Target for $20. I LOVE this dress and the look. Once we got to the shoot, I realized that the statement necklace was a little chunky for the sweetness of the dress. I have a vintage gold locket from my grandmother that would have been more delicate and completed the look, but we were on location and I didn't bring my entire jewelry folio. Lesson learned- always bring all the jewelry when shooting on location.
This dress is my own and was bought a few years ago at Nordstrom Rack for only $10 and we did use this in the shoot. I thought this would be a good idea because we had discussed taking some photos with the model eating a Popsicle in the backyard. This at least is a piece I can wash since I own it and wouldn't have to worry about it being stained or spilled on. We didn't end up doing the Popsicle photos, but this dress looked great on our model! The jean jacket is from OldNavy for $30 and we did a few shots with it but it was so bright white it just didn't photograph well. Lesson learned. ;)
These are the first few outfits that I picked up. I sent these over to the photographer who said she wanted a few things that were edgier, more global inspired, and youthful. When I went shopping originally I wasn't sure how edgy I could be. I had ruled out crop tops and the like, but once I got the green light on that, it was back to the drawing board....or Target ;)
Target had a great line of global printed pieces that I knew would be perfect for this shoot. So I ended up picking up a TON of these to have on hand. I really liked having the flexibility to dress the model in different outfits once I got to the shoot. It was helpful to have many choices and not have only a few in case they didn't work out. I ended up picking up both the romper and the sundress shown here but we didn't photograph either piece.
This crop top did end up being photographed from Target and I think the price was around $18. The only size that was left at Target was an XS which was too small so I had to safety pin the model into it at the shoot. I was also a little displeased with the placing of the bust since it was a bit small. But the shots turned out OK. We had the model bring her own denim shorts and shoes since those are harder to fit. Luckily she had some great items to choose from on the day of the shoot! Shorts are mine from OldNavy.
Once I got the green light on crop tops, I knew this sheer top would be PERFECT for the hula hoop shots. I picked up a plain bandeau for her to wear with it. We photographed this with the hula hoop and it looked amazing! :) The top and bandeau are from Target, shorts are mine from OldNavy.
This outfit was possibly one of my favorites from the shoot. It's a simple crop top and skater skirt both from Target in the same collection. The bright colors looked amazing in the photoshoot! :) TargetDoesItAgain!
I sent the new pieces over to the photographer who was very excited about them! Finally I was on the right track!
I packed the following in my bag for the shoot:
-Hangers
-Small Sewing Kit - Needle and Thread
-All Different Sizes of Safety Pins
-Clothes Pins and Chip Clips to pin clothing tighter
-My Little Steamer *BEST THING EVER*
-ALL of my own jewelry and accessories, just in case!
SHOOT DAY!
All of the outfits hung up and ready to be steamed on location!
Afterthoughts: Invest in a portable garment rack. Thankfully, Stephanie Hynes had one for me to use! Also, bring more hangers than you think you'll need.
Stephanie Hynes shooting Rubina! Styling by ME! :)
Target Top, Model's Jean Shorts and Sandals.
Afterthoughts: The bustier was an XS as it was the only one at Target and I am not entirely pleased with the fit. It looks ok in the photo, but in the future, I would put the model in something that fits better. It didn't fit her bust properly and I had to safety pin her into it.
Afterthoughts: The white jean jacket is a great idea in theory but doesn't photograph well. In the future, I will likely stay away from bright whites like this unless we have proper studio lighting.
Afterthoughts: This necklace is my own and is from OldNavy. It is too long on the model. In retrospect, I should have pinned it a bit tighter using a safety pin.
Afterthoughts: This was not the necklace I had planned for this outfit. I think I was planning on using the chunky blue statement necklace from OldNavy. But on the model, it was just too much. This necklace is actually a DIY vintage skeleton key on a silver chain from Target and is my own. I luckily happened to be wearing it at the shoot as I left my entire jewelry case at location #1. In the future, I will ALWAYS bring all jewelry and accessories to the alternate locations because sometimes those need to be switched last minute.
Afterthoughts: While this necklace looked great with the dress in theory, it is too chunky in the photograph. I have a perfect vintage gold locket from my Grandmother that I had left in my jewelry case at location #1 that would have made this look a lot more delicate. Lesson learned, ALWAYS bring all the jewelry when changing locations. We had to reuse the key necklace from the outfit above and I would have preferred the gold locket with the pink floral.
Afterthoughts: This would have been way better with a delicate gold necklace.
Well, there you have it! I was able to return all the pieces with no issues and it was a GREAT experience for me to add to my portfolio. Obviously there are a few things I will do differently/better next time, but I am so thankful to Stephanie Hynes Photography for giving me this opportunity!