Well it's our artfully tousled platinum haired model Natalie; looking every bit a bird of paradise in the bower of course. We set out for this exotic garden shoot at a grand Victorian residence in Annandale, Sydney with high spirits. The weather as it sometimes does had other ideas - it decided to rain. At first we hoped we would be able to shoot inside; I had my lighting kit at the ready. But this lovely large house, home to two retired creatives was filled to the brim. Shelves everywhere, archives, books, the furniture all a bit wrong for our looks, not the glamorous feel we were wanting, needed.. Or there were dominating artworks, stuff, stuff, more stuff.
I loved it all, but it wasn't what we were after. I would have thought I would be able to shoot around a lot of this visual clutter to minimise the impact, or exploit it. But in most rooms the decor would dominate and distract, we had a problem! I could not see clear catalogue shots being made
inside this house. The client had picked the location, and unfortunately I never been offered a chance to check it out. So I did a shot at the top of the internal stairway to get us started; and that was it for the interiors. Next we were able to get some shots on an upstairs verandah, inside-outside.. And thankfully by then, the weather had started clearing and we were able to make our way out into the garden.
Even so, this beautiful inner west suburban garden while huge by inner city standards, was still not really that large. So time evaporated as I worked my way around still wet areas and tight spaces. To create clean and clear pictures that highlighted the fashion, within the environment in the best possible light. I had to choose our positions very carefully, to keep the illusion grand. It was a challenge that I faced for every shot, all of the day. We did well of course and got the shots we needed, even if it took a little more time than we had allowed for. I recently re-edited a personal selection of these pictures, as I have always liked them but felt there was more in them than had been developed at the time. Not big differences; but some subtle ones that make me a lot happier, and some of the shots with a mood different to the clients original selection. So here they are, the garden shoot revisited.. Model Natalie, H&MU by Kaori, Client: Sarissa.
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Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.
0433 796 863
