By Kenzie Amberg
Sometimes looking at fashion websites can seem so intimidating. Elite fashion writers and icons talk about what the current trends are and what a person must have for the coming season. In a way, fashion can come across as a very black-and-white industry where a person either has fashion or doesn’t. In that sense, fashion can become dull and unwelcoming.
This past week Bjorn and I challenged that status quo and did a fashion shoot in the back of the Beauty Salon on the Eastside in Milwaukee. The concept based upon his brand Fashion Farmboy, meaning natural, accessible beauty. The backyard had an abundance of greenery and fencing, working in our favor as backdrops for the pictures. We had two lovely models, Gina Roberts and Sarah Pearson, who posed in the clothing Bjorn had picked out ahead of time.
Everything he chose was carefully selected to make the clothes cohesive. The statement jewelry worked perfectly with the outfits especially with the turquoise knit dress. Bjorn also added hints of his interpretation of upcoming trends such as four watches on one arm acting as bracelets. The funny thing is none of them actually worked! Stacy Corbine of Beauty did the fantastic styling for both the models.
It was an incredibly hot day, but Stacy handled the challenge well by doing touchups and making the cheeks more defined even with the bright lighting. Bjorn and I acted as the photographers, taking turns between looks. He would take pictures for one ensemble while I focused on adding light to the face. The backyard had some shadowing that added darkness to the faces. To fix that we used one of those car heat reflectors to bounce the light back onto the models. Then we would switch off and I would be the photographer for the next shot. I learned a lot of new techniques on how to get the models to make specific facial expressions. For instance, having them breathe out makes the face relax and have the mouth slightly open.
Gina and Sarah were troupers modeling through the extremely bright sunlight. We ended our photo shoot right when the sun was dissipating from the backyard. When I got home I went straight to work editing the pictures, and they turned out amazing! I was very happy with both the pictures I took and the ones Bjorn got as well. I may still be an amateur photographer, but experiences like these will only help me become better in time.
All photographs here by Kenzie Amberg.
