Preparing for a Fashion Shoot (and the Importance of Mood Boards) by Alexandra Gunnoe Reviews

Right now I’m in the middle of preparing for 11 separate fashion shoots featuring theses gorgeous vintage buses from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.  For more information on this project please read my previous blog “The Vintage Bus Project”.  It’s a lot of juggling, and in an effort to stay organised I’m trying to focus on a few shoots at a time so it doesn’t all catch up with me later.  

As of today, I have held castings for models, hair stylists and makeup artists for the first four shoots, and I am lucky to have found an amazing stylist, Kate Sly, of Fashion Farmer who is pulling looks for the entire project.   Most of my recent days have been spent emailing my creative team (soooo many emails), deciding on locations and trying to make sense of everything by creating excel sheets and mood boards.  I haven’t been the most organised person in my past and I’m trying out this system, which seems to be working for me so far.  I feel very, very busy but I’m not overwhelmed, which is a good place to be.

The first shoot will be a 60’s theme and we’ve built the concept around this beautiful 1959 yellow double-decker.  Hopefully you can see from my mood board what I want to get from the shoot.   My mood boards aren’t too fancy or elaborate in execution but they get the point across.  Our model, Morgan, fits the theme perfectly and the wardrobe Kate has pulled is more than amazing.  I now feel confident everyone involved is on the same page.

Here are two more mood boards for the 2^nd and 3^rd shoot, which are a 40’s and 50’s theme, respectively.    

 

And Kate’s efforts deserve their own photos, as I couldn’t be happier with what she has chosen for our first shoot.

Not long now, we start shooting in a week!

Alexandra Gunnoe at Alexandra Gunnoe Photography

alexandragunnoe.com

 

The Vintage Bus Project by Alexandra Gunnoe

February has been a great month for inspiration and it’s time I tell you a little bit about an upcoming project that I’m really excited about.  Beginning in March, I'm photographing a series of fashion shoots featuring these beautiful vintage buses, firetrucks and tractors.  The concept for the shoots came together over a short period of time and it’s all moving very quickly.  It started when I was doing some internet research about an old World War II building I’m shooting in next week (see my previous post “Location Inspiration”).  I stumbled upon this site, the West of England Transportation Collection, and I was immediately intrigued.  Colin Shears, a local automobile enthusiast, started collecting vehicles in the 1960’s, and they now estimate that over 200 vehicles have been saved from being scrapped or abandoned.  They are all housed in this huge hangar and a good number of them have been beautifully restored.

I acted on a whim and immediately contacted Dan at the WETC, to see if he would want to collaborate on a few shoots.  He jumped on board and has been extremely gracious and accommodating with his time.  My next step was to find a stylist who could help dress the models in vintage wardrobe reflecting the years of the vehicles.  After a few days of heavy digging, I was lucky to find Kate Sly of Fashion Farmer, who completely gets what we’re doing and has some amazing ideas for me to bounce off.  I was able to visit the hangar yesterday and was pleased to find the buses are even more charming in person.  

So where are we at right now?   We’re in the midst of assembling a fantastic creative team.  I’m currently casting for models, scouting locations and working out the details with hair and makeup.  It’s a ton of work but the kind of work that I enjoy.  My budget isn’t huge but I’m working things out as creatively as possible and I plan to blog about it regularly.  

So far this whole experience has taught me a lot about positive thinking.  People often talk about the Law of Attraction and how a positive attitude creates positive results.  I’ve always believed that in theory, but it’s even more interesting to watch it unfold in real life as you go.  Personally, it’s easier to for me to process the concept in a more practical way (rather than a mystical way).  In other words, I acted on an urge to contact Dan and see if he would want to work together.  When I emailed him, I wasn’t thinking about how much work it would be, or that he probably wouldn’t want to be involved, that I wouldn’t be able to afford it, or even that I had a baby not too long ago and it would be difficult to find the available time.  There are definite challenges involved but I’m attacking everything in an organised, proactive way.  Instead of keeping a great idea inside my head and thinking it would be better to ask next year when things are less hectic, I acted on it, pushed the doubts aside, and now things are coming together as we iron out the details.  It requires a creative balancing act but I feel grateful to have this many good things on the horizon and am happy to juggle it all. 

Alexandra Gunnoe Photography.

Photos taken by Alexandra Gunnoe and Dan Shears.  Alexandra Gunnoe Photography.  alexandragunnoe.comhttp://www.alexandragunnoe.com/