Sunken Garden shoot
Last summer I started to think that I could really do with getting on the photo shoot bandwagon. Many other florists have collaborated on photo shoots and it’s a great chance to work with complete creative control. When I began to think seriously about this I knew my number one priority (aside from buying lots of flowers) was to work with Jo Brown. I can’t remember when I first started following Jo on Instagram, but I have loved her photography for a while now. She is a master at using light and dark in her shots, and she often works with film, which I think adds such a huge amount of atmosphere to an image.
Jo really knows what she’s talking about and it was a privilege to watch her work and try and see what she was seeing as she set up shots and adjusted angles. The photos from that day are seeped in the cold, damp, and dull October weather we worked in and this is all Jo’s doing. Jo makes real life look so much better! I keep looking at the soggy, rotten leaves that we scattered under the arrangements. In reality they were just a bit of texture, but in the photos, it looks like Jo has painted these so beautifully and precisely exactly where she wants them. The collaboration was so much more than what I had expected it to be.
We had a team of women for the shoot. Alongside Jo, I needed clothes, a model, make up and hair. I am quite a fan of punching way above my weight, just to see what happens, which was the case when I got in touch with Lucy Meyer. When I searched for make up artists in Eastbourne and came across her website, I could not believe that someone of her calibre experience she has was working and living in the sleepiest of south coast towns. And then she also agreed to help out on the shoot and provide her salon for hair and make up – this was a dream coming true!
Clothes were provided by Hannah and Abby of House of Ollichon. I really wanted a “bride” in trousers and struggled for a while to find anything that wasn’t just a man’s suit tailored to a woman’s body. HoO generously lent me some beautiful garments, including the drop-back jumpsuit that we all wanted to take home.
And our model? My dear old University pal, all-round crazy bean, and hugely talented Vanessa stepped up. What a beaut she is. Inside and out. And she put up with that damp, creeping cold in very little clothing.
So, the summary? Collaboration is KEY. As much as I enjoy my controlled, quiet environments for creating and working in peace, I am deeply fulfilled when working with others.
Other people are great.
The photo shoot we collaborated on is featured on Love My Dress.
