Fashion photo shoot gone bad

U

UndoneMrs

Registered Guest
Recently I've become much more, for lack of a better word, persistent about becoming more active in styling. After a cross country move, I'm just putting down some roots and getting myself out there. So after talking to a business owner that needed web and look book styling I was set to do a "TFP" or trade for pics using professional models and photographers and makeup artists. No date was set but they asked for "60s 70s rich hippie, flowy structured dresses." Although I was worried about the two decades of fashion and contrasting styles, I felt confident I could deliver. A few weeks later they called and said the shoot was in 3 days. :o Although I had already began pulling options, still short notice ! They didn't care about seeing the items I pulled, which also made me anxious, I was still set on delivering !
I'll stop now and say I really pulled out the big guns, Halston, Rudi Gernreich, Saint Laurent, 60s Gucci leather dress, vintage Bottega bags, I brought TONS of pieces. Holly Harp !!!!
When i get to the shoot, there is lots of downtime at first in which, I just grab a model and start trying on options, everything fits great!
When the shoot begins, they hate everything. They "Hate' a 70s Bill Blass Fringe dress, Donald Brooks is too "costume-y", Holly Harp Who ?
It only gets worse, they then try and go into their own closets and find pieces that will work. My face when they come back with 15 year old Diesel jeans and that Paco Rabanne chain mail knock off every club girl had in the mid 90s. You know the triangle of chain mail. :fainting:
After 7 hours and only 6 looks, ruffles had wilted, chiffon humiliated, and I had no idea what just happened. I kept up a brave front, and packed up and left in smiles, but by the time I hit a cafe for tea I was in tears.
What happens when people don't see vintage like you do ? I understand people have many ideas of style, but really ?
Anyone else have stories, where there vintage has fallen on blind eyes ?
 
These people can't possibly consider themselves professionals in their industries and NOT know who these designers are???

They should be ashamed of themselves!!

Sounds like the whole thing was a waste of your time. Use it as a lesson - YOU did nothing wrong, here, other than assuming the others knew what they were doing. Next time, MAKE SURE whoever you're working with isn't wasting your time. Time is money - since it sounds like you didn't get any workable pictures out of this deal, what DID you get? 7 hours of lost time, it sounds like.
 
I agree with Kristine. They sound like a bunch of nerds. :icon_dante: They should be embarrassed not you, and the fact they'd never heard of any of the designers just beggars belief. What a joke! Sorry they wasted your time but at least you can learn from this. :)
 
You fire them... I did just that...

But here are some tip which will help with shoot...

Pull looks from magazine you like even though it not the exact clothing your are talkiing about.

Pull a rack of clothing that you find interesting then there MUST BE A FITTING. So you can see if outfits work and get an idea what to do with hair. I do this not on the day of the shoot. I set list in my head of which dresses must be shot. If you are workng with others you should put your foot down when they are not shooting the clothing you want.

I do my own styling and shooting. I have have gotten into too many fights with stylists over looks. If the models like the outfits I know I am good, I think the stylists are overwhelmed by the clothing and want it to be current.

And maybe your shots are not so bad. I have to look at pictures days later because I am generally aggravated when Iam finished shooting....

-Chris
 
the longer I deal with people in "fashion" (or photography), I find that just because they act like they know the industry doesn't mean they really do. we know that anyone who knows fashion would know those names (and should be thrilled to work with such pieces!)....but the scenesters weilding cameras and wearing the latest local boutique pieces know as much about the history of fashion these days as a professional bowler.

I've gotten to where I won't bother working with anyone local but a few that I know well and know will appreciate being able to use good vintage. The rest can go to the trendy hipster end of town and use poorly made rags held together by velcro, "designed" by kids who like to say they do fashion design but have no idea who McQueen is.

Bitter.

Ang
 
It is not easy to style vintage clothing so it will sell. I have important peices in my collection but dont choose to photograph it because I rather shoot something that is a bit more trendy.... I need to sell my clothing. I satisfy my vintage self by shooting things for arts sake like my hat shoot....

-Chris
 
What an awful experience!

I, too, agree that a pre-photography fitting session with the models is essential. It also helps if they send you examples of the sort of look they're going for - often they have an inaccurate idea of eras (eg, at the moment I'm getting lots of so-called '50s looks that are really '60s, beehive hairstyles and all). But don't worry if they don't know the right names/designers/eras to ask for - as long as you can interpret what they're after, it will all work out okay.

I used to provide free use of clothing for photos etc, but with one exception, they never came through with their side of things and so now I just hire the garments and then it doesn't matter. It left a nasty taste in my mouth: I like to work with people and help bring their projects into fruition but if they're getting paid, why shouldn't you? After all, you paid for the garments, cleaned and mended them, and spent years developing your expertise. You may need to clean and mend them after the shoot too.

Nicole
 
The models I know pro and amature! go to great lengths to find drawings of the style of photo and these are circulated between all the parts involved so ever one know what the looka are or props are months in advance and if changes need to be made it's done then and not one the day, one friend last week done did a set of classic pinup shoots her inspiration was Gil Elvgren so there loads of material and photos they were circulated in advance thus the end result was rightly so in the style off.

It's so easy these day to scan in or find or take a photo of a image and email it around there no excuse for not having a photo

I feel for you as you not a mind reader and changing things on the day can only lead to mixed results.

I hope your not put off for the future by working with this crew.
 
Many thanks ! I really am taking this experience as a dreaded "learning lesson." I haven't seen any pics yet and its been a couple weeks. I will always do a run thru in the future, I had a funny feeling when they didn't care about seeing any of the pieces. It does leave a bad taste in my mouth, considering I showed up on time, with as many things I could tote and spent hours there. No pay, no pics.
Ha ha I just found a smiley with my "big guns" :USEGUN:
 
I went thru almost the same thing when I was approached to provide
"pin up" clothing for a calendar. What a disaster. The person in charge had a small idea of what was appropriate as I adamantly said NO to risque poses in my clothing.
Out of the 100 pieces they borrowed they used 5 and these were completely styled wrong.
Someone decided that the models didn't like vintage so, they used their own cheap poly vintage look stuff.
I threw all the calendars out after I saw them
No way did I want people to think I carried that type of clothing.
Never again!
 
Oh, dear; sorry to hear of your horrid experience.

These people you worked with obviously had NO clue what they were doing, from the fact that they had no pre-shoot photos, sketches, or anything else for you to go by other than the description "....rich hippie, flowy structured dresses." That alone sounds odd--awfully hard to get flowy and structured together in one piece. And no fittings ahead of time, which is crazy.

How could a Bill Blass fringed dress not be right for the era? How could they not appreciate the wealth of other names you brought?

Your pieces sound divine and, yes, WE would love to see them! You would have an appreciative audience!

At least this can be a lesson for next time. Always something to take away from a bad experience.
 
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