Credits

Photographer: Christos Sewell
Wardrobe Stylist: Shannon Campbell
Art Director: Corbin Chamberlin
Makeup: Holli Christensen for Kensington
Hair: Lauren Duet for Kensington
Models: Anna-Lisa Wagner (Ford), Katie Flanigan (Ford), Gwen Elizabeth (S.I.M.)

Comments from Shannon and Christos follow the images. Click on any image to see it larger.

Styling comments from wardrobe stylist Shannon Campbell

Photographic comments from fashion photographer Christos Sewell

This shoot was intended as test shoot for my personal work. However, like all creative ideas I try to bring to life, it soon gets a life of its own. When I plan a shoot, it is rarely with just myself and the models in mind; rather I plan for it to be a culmination of talents (i.e. artists, stylists etc.). This makes me the client and gives me a sense responsibility as well as creative license. Now that the shots have been processed, I am currently looking for publications to submit to.

The theme of this particular editorial was to express the beauty of the models while confined in the most unflattering wardrobe appropriate to the scene. The abstract beauty vs. industrial was a challenge. I brought an art director into the shoot, to help me stay focussed on the proposed creative aspects, and not break theme for the sake of a “one-off” shot. The A.D. is my second eye on the set, and I count on him to spot continuity and technical glitches like hand positions from the model, or rogue shadows on the set. My wardrobe stylists that I work with are another key component on keeping the creative intact. For this particular shoot, the difficulty lay in how to make the models look fantastically styled in such a drab, non-tailored, work coverall and still look fantastic.

The three models, Anna-Lisa Wagner (Ford), Katie Flanigan (Ford), Gwen Elizabeth (S.I.M.), were cast from the local agencies. I work with all of the major agencies in Arizona, a luxury afforded to me by doing many test-shoots over the last two years. I have worked with Katie and Gwen previously, and wanted to add Anna-Lisa to complete a trio of talent that would pull off the look I wanted. They all have the personalities and enthusiasm that is vital to enduring the expectations planned for that day. All three of them have flawless complexions, great hair, and winning smiles. Given that this shoot was drab and styled in unflattering wardrobe (intentionally), I really wanted their model beauty to shine through.

The shoot lasted approximately 7-8 hours, and was taken in a downtown depot for street cleaning machines. The owner was gracious enough to lend us the grounds to shoot at. The only limitations to the shoot were not to interfere with ground operations, and keep our shoot professional and on task….a very simple request to abide by. The main difficulty for me personally was trying to tighten up the frame on a shot so the abstract clutter didn’t impede on particular angles. Moving the existing equipment was not an option, so we (Shannon, Corbin and I) collectively decided to work all of the machinery and tools into the frame. The results were fantastic!

I shoot with both a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 1D Mark III. All of the shots were captured using a 100mm 2.8 macro. I chose the macro lens because it keeps the perspective true. With models near 6′ and machinery crowding us in…I wanted to keep everything in proportion, whereas a short lens may have warped the vertical/horizontal lines in the scene. The lens is also very fast, and dealt well with the tricky lighting situations.

For the last 2 years I have been a Profoto Lighting man through and through. I depend on fast, efficient and consistent lighting color from my packs and strobes. Every shot was taken using a 3-light setup: a Profoto Gridded Zoom Reflector from the top (hard light for great chin shadows), and two 1×4 Profoto Strip Softboxes for fill at a 45 degree angle to either side of the model. And I used a single wide reflector to control light and shadow the background of the model. The industrial background looked great with the hard lighting, and it reinforced the contrast between a harsh environment and beautiful models.

I do all of the retouching myself. Since I am very particular about my lighting, and the results I want to achieve, I sometimes light with specific retouching in mind. For example, creating a hard shadow on the neckline often means a little more lightening in post-production on the eye-line and structure of the cheekbones. Also I do try to emphasize my subjects by selectively dodging and burning the background elements. Each image takes anywhere from 20-60 minutes to retouch. Beauty shots will obviously take longer to preserve detail and eliminate imperfections as I judge necessary.

All in all the shoot went off without a hitch. The entire day was full of spur-of-the-moment ideas that would have been great, except they distracted from the main concept. I thank my wardrobe stylist and A.D. for keeping me on track. What I brought away from this shoot was what pure fun it is to work with editorial abstract. Seeing a six foot model in a blue jumpsuit with an air-blower on her back was quite a treat!

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