Behind The Scenes of a Maternity Fashion Photoshoot
Do you want to know more about what it looks like behind the scenes of a fashion photoshoot? This one's for you!
The idea for the blog came from a Q&A which I recently had the honour of answering for our talented hair & makeup artist Jennifer Lo at Lolo & Co.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jen during the last two NINE+QUARTER photoshoots and when we last spoke Jen, who works with a number of fashion brands big and small, was curious to know what it's like organising your first photoshoots. Here's a bit about our last N+Q photoshoot:
The Team
Photographer: Laura Ribatallada, fashion photographer with a focus on sustainable brands.
MUAH: Jennifer Lo, twin-mum and ethical hair & make-up artist.
Models: Lucy - a mum of three with her youngest daughter Lyra. Faye, a first-time mum with her 8 weeks old son Tobias. Angel, 36 weeks pregnant with her son Felix, whom she's since had the pleasure of welcoming into the world!
Director: Martina, mum of two and founder of NINE+QUARTER maternity & breastfeeding wear.
Objective
Capture the new NINE+QUARTER maternity & breastfeeding wear collection, including model shots for the product pages on the website and lifestyle shots for the website and social media channels.
Key message?
"Maternity wear doesn't have to be boring and you don't have to wave bye to your style because you're pregnant or breastfeeding". In other words - New life, same you!
Snippets from the day
Hair & make-up - The day starts with a cup of tea, a briefing and hair & make-up by MUAH Jennifer Lo.
Let's go! With many of our designs being maternity & breastfeeding friendly, each top needs to be shot three times to show the fit with a bump, the breastfeeding functionality/postpartum fit and the clothes in a "lifestyle" setting. Everyone needs to work together to maintain a quick pace and ensure all designs have been shot before the contracted time is up. A detailed schedule helps inform the order of the day. Our photographer Laura, with all her talent and experience, never misses a chance to capture the best shots! .
Wearing many hats - For our last photo shoot we rented White Room Studio in Brixton which meant we had the right light and backdrop for our model shots but needed to improvise with our furniture props. Being a small team means everyone is wearing many hats, including pumping up the double mattress to create a bed.
Boobing break - Shooting with expecting and young mums and babies requires flexibility, extra time and lots of breastfeeding breaks.
Making connections - During the shoot everyone gets to know each other. Angel and Lucy connected immediately which was not only heart-warming to see but also created beautiful, natural shots.
Women supporting women - One of the things that I love the most about running NINE+QUARTER, besides making clothes that pregnant and breastfeeding mums get excited about, are the photoshoots. The moment post design and production when the clothes are showcased by real mums and pregnant women and skillfully captured by a talented photographer. On shoot day I get to step out of my bedroom/office and meet a bunch of passionate, beautiful women and it is SO MUCH FUN!" 🤗💓
Extract from the Q&A with Jen
Jen: How did you plan out what you wanted the photos to look like?
Me: This is a great question as it’s the hardest part of planning a fashion photo shoot in my opinion. Being a photo shoot Creative Director is an art and a profession in it’s own right. If you can’t afford to hire someone to translate your vision into the reality of a photoshoot, you have to make up for it in terms of research and preparation.
I did a lot of research, trying to understand our customer (who she is and how she lives), looking for images that match my vision that “Dressing during Maternity & Motherhood doesn’t have to be boring” and looking at other brands to find inspiration.
Interested in finding out more? Read the full Q&A on the Lolo & Co blog.
Martina is a mum of two and the founder of NINE+QUARTER, a small range of easy-to-rock, organic and on-trend maternity and breastfeeding wear.