Charlotte Raine of Charlotte Raine Corsetry shares her experiences of obtaining photography for her business, the work behind her first professional shoot and the lessons she has learned along the way. She hopes her experiences will help anyone thinking of organising their first shoot or developing their own photography.

My Photography Odyssey

I have always had a clear, fixed idea of what I want my business to be. I knew the importance of good images, and whilst I have not compromised on my ideals, I delayed promoting myself further until I felt I had the right images. Up until now I managed using my Photoshop skills, a fairly decent quality camera and a well lit conservatory to take photographs. The sun might peek out in the winter months and I would drop everything to utilise the light to grab some shots.

I knew that this method on my mannequin would only ever be “ok” and not fully what I wanted. I worked for some time on a magazine and my brother is a shoot hairdresser, so I knew the cost involved in a professional shoot, knew it was out of my budget, and knew that I had to consider other options.

A Toe in the Water

A customer of mine put me in touch with a model friend who needed corsets for a planned shoot. (Models often get together with photographers to each other’s mutual portfolio benefit.) I explained the style I was looking for and provided a full Victoriana burlesque outfit and a selection of corsets. I think I was unlucky on this occasion, however: the photographs were not what I wanted and were poorly shot. I could not use any of them and my corsets came back with mud on them; the whole thing was a disaster. I know people who have used this method very successfully and my advice to anyone would be know the model, know the photographer and attend yourself to get some shots of what you need - and agree on everything upfront.

Using Lessons Learned

My next step was to contact a boudoir photographer who had been recommended to me. She offers an experience during which you go to her studio, have your hair and make-up done, select an outfit and have lovely photographs taken. I made an arrangement with her to supply a corset for her clients to use, in exchange for photographs. I knew her portfolio was good, so I felt a lot more confident about doing this. However, this was where my inexperience showed up again. The photographer wanted to know whether I had any styling props or accessories - I had not thought of this! Having gone into this without much expectation, I had not considered jewellery, or what was going on the bottom half, let alone styling. Fortunately, my photographer is a great stylist too and took care of everything. Then one day I opened my email and these images started to load slowly onto my screen. I was so excited to see these beautiful images and realised ‘I made that!’ It was the confidence boost I really needed and was a positive step towards what I wanted. However, I knew I couldn’t shoot all my products like this.

Going Pro

I hit the internet looking for other photographers to see if I could arrange something to meet my budget. Luckily, I found another boudoir and pin-up photographer just two villages away. I met with him and his assistant to discuss what would be possible. We spent a long time looking over their portfolio for me to understand what they do and their philosophy. I already had a very clear idea of what I wanted, which was a bright, fun, fresh shoot, and their portfolio assured me they could deliver this. We agreed to a package that included a day’s shoot and re-touching of selected photographs. Developing a relationship with a local studio has also opened up networking opportunities for both of us.

Creating the Concept

Now the hard work began! I am fortunate to have a sister-in-law, Paola, who is a top photographic editor. It is her job to arrange the images in publications and organise all the shoots. I wanted her input to make sure I was doing things correctly. I was conscious I was new to this and wanted to be able to present my ideas for the shoot in a professional way, whilst also not wasting the photographers time. I also had the invaluable help of my friend Caroline, who is a marketing manager. She really understands how to portray a concept and style a shoot. I put together a moodboard of the overall look I wanted. I specialise in historical corsetry but I really wanted to open up the designs to the wider market, making a gentle nod towards the historical whilst also having a cheeky sense of humour. We got together over a lot of coffee and cake and threw ideas around. If money and time was no object we had the most exciting grand ideas, but we had to scale it back to what was achievable and store the wilder ideas for another day.

Paola helped me work out the whole process: What pieces did I want to photograph? What colours? Style? Concept? Props? Accessories and other clothing? Poses? Hair ? Make-Up? How much time have we got?

We sketched everything out, and I took these sketches and refined them by figuring in all the other details. We put together a shoot schedule that built in buffer zones for overruns. The schedule was dictated by hair, starting with "hair up" and moving towards "hair down" shots. We also allocated roles, which is critical to ensure that everyone knows where they are: I was to dress, Paola was to work on the technical elements such as lighting, and Caroline was to style the shot and generally help out with catering. I could then feed all this back to my photographer, who spent a long time with me to ensure that we could create what I wanted.

The Model

I had no set agenda about look, size or shape for my model. My only criteria were to have a sense of humour and some curves. I think this was the most stressful part of the process. I had a model lined up, but she wasn't available for the date I wanted. I trawled through the model sites, which I found overwhelming. Just when I was giving up hope I found Didi through a friend. She had just graduated from dance college, wanted to build her portfolio, and loved my work. As soon as I met her, I noticed that she had a very engaging presence and flow of movement. We had a long chat about the concept and this is where having those physical sketches really helped. She was able to contribute to the creative process in showing certain movements we could include. I also took some corsets along so that she could get comfortable with what she would be wearing.

Make-Up and Hairdresser

I knew that my shoot hairdresser brother would be abroad for my shoot, so I booked a hair and make-up artist recommended to me by my photographer. I looked over her portfolio and knew that she could create the look I wanted. I sent over my sketches and images of the hair and make-up I liked and she researched particular hairstyles. I also sent her an image of my model with no make-up on so that she could think about colouring. The cost of hiring her was £160 for an eight hour day (prices can be £150-£250+ in the UK). I did consider other options, but both Paola and my brother advised me that this is the one thing worth investing in. A good hair and make-up artist has all the kit, will work with you, understand the colouring needed under the lights, and work quickly.

Day of the Shoot

The night before was frantic and I wished I had another week, but with everyone’s help everything was packed and ready. This did not stop me lying awake worrying that there was something I’d forgotten!

I was up at 7am to pick up my model, grab some toast, pack the car and get off to the studio by 9am. The first job was for my model to get into a dressing gown, so that no elastic marks would appear on her body, and into hair and make-up. This is where the shoot schedule was vital. Everyone could refer to it and knew what shot was coming up, so the hair and make-up girl could get finished, my helpers could get the props ready, and I could get the garments ready.

The lighting was set up and the kettle put on. Some tests shots were taken and uploaded to the computer for my approval. We needed a few tweaks on the lighting and then we could start shooting proper.

The set up is always the longest part of the day; once that's complete, the day flows a lot more quickly. The only areas that take a little time after this are dressing and hair changes.

The shoot went very smoothly, and this was down to the great team I was working with. My photographer was excellent and knew how to advise my model on how to stand to create the right lines. Everyone knew what we were doing and the look for each shot. Those sketches were used over and over for reference right next to the schedule. The timing of the schedule did go out as some shots took longer and some less time than planned, but everyone knew what was coming next.

I finally relaxed about 3pm when I realised what I had been able to achieve: all these people were here because I had organised this and my work looked amazing. My overwhelming thought was to wonder why I hadn’t done this sooner!

Retouching

A few days after the shoot I met up with the photographer's assistant, who is nothing short of an artist with Photoshop. You can achieve some amazing effects with Photoshop but the style of this shoot was to keep the shots simple and honest. I was adamant that I wanted as little retouch to the model as possible. I have always strived to make my work accessible and think "Would I want to buy it?" Additionally, taking time over details on the day had saved the need for a lot of retouching.

We thought about the use of the photographs for print and for web use and the subtleties to colour and light. Little flaws, such as marks on the backing paper, needed to be removed. The assistant also cropped certain photographs to achieve the detail shots I wanted. I selected 71 images to be worked on. A few days later I came back to approve and collect my photographs in a digital format ready for the next step in my journey. I was utterly delighted and excited and so very grateful for everybody’s help and support.

My tips for the day

Allow Yourself Plenty of Time

• Start to look into photographers you might like to work with. Look over their portfolios and start a dialogue with them, so that when you do organise a shoot, you know who you can work with and have an idea of costs involved.
• Time is also needed to plan your shoot and to sew for it. Sewing things at the last minute is just stressful for you and takes your attention away from looking over all the little details that make the look of your shoot unique to you.

Looking After Yourself

• This links in with time. Making sure you are organised well in advance will allow you the time to relax and be calm so that you can enjoy your day.
• Get a good night’s sleep and make sure you eat and drink through the day, as it is easy to forget to do this.
• My mum saw some pictures of the day and said “I have seen you look better! Knowing you, you were worrying about everyone else”. She was right; I should have taken more time to relax and prepare beforehand.

Looking After Other People

• I was relying heavily on favours and help, but regardless of this, it always pays to consider the needs of the people you are working with, not only because you are a nice person but because good relationships mean future collaboration.
• Check on people’s dietary requirements. You need to think about drinks, lunch and nibbles. It is a long day and everyone needs to keep their energy levels up, none more so than your model, who is standing around for most of the day. Make sure breaks are scheduled in.

Be Flexible

• Coordinating when everybody is free can be a challenge, so have a few dates in mind.
• Take additional props, accessories, clothing and fabric just in case you need to add something to your shot.
• This is your shoot, but do consider the advice of the people you are working with and utilise their experience and skills.
• If something is not working scrap it and move on. There will always be another day, or you may find time to fix any issues later on.

 

Have Confidence!

• However you choose to take photographs, whether on your own or at a professional shoot, have confidence in the work you have created and the image you want to portray, and the rest will follow.

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