Credits

Photographer: Kimberly Metz
Wardrobe Stylist: Camille Jumelle for Couture Junkie
Hair Stylist: Mitzi Spallas
Makeup Artist: Natalie Miller
Model: Zdenka for LA Models.

Comments from Kimberly and Camille follow the images. Click on any image to see it larger.

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Styling comments from fashion and wardrobe stylist Camille Jumelle:

I met Kimberly [Metz, the photographer] through a stylist friend of mine, who thought we would be a great creative team. Kimberly gave me a verbal description of the shoot she had planned: industrial and artsy! We planned on doing both outside and studio shots for this.

When I plan a film or a photo shoot, I like to meet my actors or models beforehand. Meeting actors or my subject helps me get an essence of what they are about. A ‘visual’ really helps me to see their structure and their coloring!

First I view the entire concept in my head. I visualize props, furniture, and whether it’s a studio setting or outdoors (in this case, both). The next step is to articulate a story or theme based on that concept, through the clothing and accessories. I knew J Gerard would be able to see the vision I was going towards, and I would be able to balance the industrial harshness with the feminine edgy clothes she creates.

We were on a tight timeline for this shoot. The clothes were pulled in 3 days. Normally I design the sets and clothing myself, to control the elements and the look of the overall shoot. Since time was short, that wasn’t possible this time.

The silver jewelry, brass necklaces and peach and gold ring were all on loan from Los angeles based jewelry designer Kerri Parker. Kerri Parker had sterling silver rings and bracelets and I liked the modernist sleekness of the jewelry, paired with the black, beaded opera wrap. Kerri parkers brass jewelry works well when paired with the faux fur coat dress By J Gerard.

The faux fur crop jacket and ‘peace’ jewelry are all by j Gerard. I loved the fun embellishment of the necklace with this look. The Italian lace boots shown here were supplied by the Oscar Generale showroom.

The Oscar Generale showroom (Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, and TriBeCa, New York) supplied the Italian silver chain shoes with the beaded opera wrap, and the Italian navy blue wool boucle dress with lace accents. The ankle boot shown here with this dress completed the look, and our model looked like a puppet or marionette.

The day of the shoot, we got off to a late start and we were dealing with all those variables when shooting outside: wind, cars, people watching, or getting in the shot. But we were all very happy with the first shot, the gold lame dress. As Zdenka [the model] was posing up against the fence, the helicopter landed and blew her gown with a sheer elegance and flow! We balanced Zdenka on the call button of the quard gate, which was ‘interesting’ in 4-inch thigh high boots! The challenge after that was a matter of time, as we were hard pressed to finish both the outdoor and the studio shots. But we did it!

Photographic comments from fashion photographer Kimberly Metz:

The shoot I did with model Zdenka was shot ‘on spec’, with the intention of shopping it to an editorial client. Camille (the stylist) and I wanted to blended industrial looks with feminine, sexy soft looks. We imagined a 70’s-inspired vibe of faux fur, gold lamé gown and suede lace Italian boots, with heavy chain necklaces laced with Swarovski crystals.

I’ve worked with Camille before, and originally met her through another costume designer. She is very easygoing and a great collaborator, so I found it was easy to discuss the edgy urban environment, coupled with the soft fabrics that reflected the upcoming high fashion European trends.

Zdenka, the model, is someone I’d been interested in working with for quite some time. I kept seeing her portfolio on the LA Models’ site,  and I love her European eclectic Italian Renaissance look inspired by the Leonardo Davinci painting “Woman”.

The location is straight up Van Nuys, California. The locations were picked almost at random, and we were making it up as we went along. The helicopter literally appeared in the background while we were shooting. It’s ironic: that kind of thing happens when I’m shooting all the time especially when I don’t “plan.” We did however need an industrial broom for all those leaves, but unfortunately I didn’t have one.

I shot this with the Canon 5d and a 28-70 zoom. I like wide angle shots, which is evident from this shoot. Lighting was simple: mother nature’s natural light and my trusty old school reflector.

There are many personalities in this business, and working with a large number of people can get ‘interesting,’ to say the least. I can’t give away details, but we all needed some sort of release afterward. The most challenging aspect of this shoot was having to delegate allocated time for each department to effectively execute their art, and shoot time was limited. There are just not enough hours in the day anymore, unlike in the days of film…it seemed that you just shot fewer frames, so shoots took less time. Now with digital it seems more frames are shot, taking more time in the process.

I did some minimal retouching of the images afterward, and more extensive compositing but came up with the overlays in post-production on a whim. I generally like to plan, but find myself being more inspired by spur of the moment events or situations, which in turn make the end result more dynamic and bold.

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