Credits

Photographer: Jonah Gilmore
Wardrobe Stylist: Lei Phillips
Makeup and Hair: Jennifer Kolhagen and Brittany Hall
Hair: Nancy Morales
Photographic Assistant: Mallory Turner
Wardrobe Assistant: Angelica Celestine
Models: Jaime Miller and Meghan McLellan with No Ties Management

Comments from Jonah, Jennifer and Lei follow the images. Click on any image to see it larger.

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Styling comments from fashion and wardrobe stylist Lei Phillips:

This was my first time working with Jonah, who contacted me about some great concepts he had. He shared them with me and I was most interested in the 70′s Boho theme he had proposed.

For every shoot I do, I aways like to do image researching and collect images or something that is abstract to help me get a general idea of the the theme. I also love to do a little reading or watching movies, music videos and anything that will let my mind soak up on the theme. Once I know that is done I do a collage so that when I go pull the items I have that reference in front of me.

My thought process generally goes like this: I ask myself “what is what is the color story?” and then from there I put the outfit together. I also keep in mind the theme and remind myself to stay consistent.

It takes me at least one or two days to prepare, which includes emailing and calling stores and showrooms, and two days at the most to pick up the clothes. Getting access to designers and showrooms requires a lot of networking, and I keep in contact with them even after working with them on published work. I find that sending thank you notes goes a long way!

I planned all of the outfits beforehand and I brought extra pieces to swap out just in case something didn’t work. I also bring other outfits as well, just in case. You can never have too much! It’s better to have plenty of options.  There was one outfit that I had to switch out: I originally paired the black leather skirt with a knit top that didn’t look right, so I did a black button up instead.

All in all this shoot went very smoothly, and I would say the only obstacle I had was making sure I didn’t have any prints that was going to clash, and making sure the color story was on point.

Comments from makeup and hair stylist Jennifer Kolhagen:

I have worked with Jonah several times and have always had a great time. He works very hard. We were trying to shoot inside the brewery district, but we were kicked out! So we had to pack up our set-up and re-locate outside of the brewery. Always something new and exciting!

When it comes to preparation, most of my clients offer a story board or inspiration shots. I try to look at those to get a general idea of the look they’re after. Upon arrival at the job location, I will then look at the models’ skin colors, hair colors, eye colors and the clothing that will be used to get an idea of what I will create. This was a typical shoot in that sense.

It’s important to bring the right equipment to the shoot. I usually bring a folding table and stool, a case for irons, hair dryers, scissors, three make-up cases, a case for make up brushes and eye lashes, a bag of hair brushes and combs, a case of pins, rubberbands, a small bag of wigs,  some granola bars or crackers and many other creative things that can be added to a shoot.

Photographic comments from fashion photographer Jonah Gilmore:

This shoot was shot ‘on spec’, but aimed at a particular print magazine. It was based on the magazine’s input and suggestions, but did not end up being used for publication.  So the look, wardrobe, etc. was based on something that would fit the magazine’s style/theme.

I spend quite a bit of time looking for magazines that I would like to build a relationship with, contact their editor and submit to, usually I research and get the Editor’s email address, and sometimes I will even call the magazine to find out who I would contact.

Typically my pre-production works like this: once i have the wardrobe stylist on board, I start looking for locations that could work. Then I will put together sample images that fit the look/mood of what I’m going for, a kind of mood board, and give that to everyone involved so everyone knows what we’re looking to achieve. Then I start to contact makeup artists and hair stylists to see who would be available for the shoot date, as well as put together a call sheet with sample images to submit to modeling agencies to see what models would be available.

This was my first time working with each of the crew members on this shoot, although I had been in contact with some of them previously. The models came from agencies I have worked with a number of times, and I found Lei and some of the hair/makeup team on Model Mayhem.  Jenn and I had already been in contact, and knew each other from a previous fashion show.  Since this shoot I have worked again with Jenn as well as Brittany Hall, she does a great job.

Lei [the wardrobe stylist] was able to take the mood board with her, and contact shops and designers to pull looks that she thought would work. The mood board with sample images works great, and really explains everything visually.

I sent out call sheets to different modeling agencies, with the shoot time/date, and stats of the types of models we were looking for.

We started the shoot at 8am, and shot until approximately 4pm. I had previously scouted the area around The Brewery District in L.A. I had also asked a couple of people who lived in the area about shooting there, and thought I was all good to go. But as we were doing hair/makeup on site we found out we would not be allowed to shoot there, as they require a fee! So we actually did the shoot directly outside of the Brewery District on a couple of the side streets. It was a bit stressful, but all worked out fine.

These images were capture3d using my Canon 5d mk II, Tamron 28-70mm  and Canon 50mm. For lighting I used two Alien Bees strobes with battery power and an inverter pack that I built myself. Generally the images are backlit with the sun, and then I used one direct main/key light with a 7″ reflector, no modifiers. This suited the natural/sunny look I was going for.

My post-production included color correction, sharpening, some contrast adjustment, and a little mild skin retouching. I use Capture One to do selections and RAW processing, and then Photoshop to finish the images off.

Some behind-the-scenes shots, taken by Mallory Turner.

Brittany Hall doing Jaime’s hair:

Jonah at work:

Jennifer doing Meghan’s makeup:

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