Collaborating with creatives
It’s been a while since I’ve had butterflies heading into a photoshoot, but this one had me a flutter.
There’s something special that happens when so many people come together with the intention of being creative. I’ve never been in a band, but maybe it’s like that, a group of artists making music together. You control and set up the aspects you can, bring your talents and ideas, and then surrender and trust the rest to all of those involved.
I didn’t dream up “The Collective”, far from it in fact. I saw this type of photoshoot get executed beautifully by a photographer I adore and I’ve also seen it repeatedly in the wedding photography industry. I figured if I wanted to do my dream photoshoot with some incredible clients, I’d have to take the lead and find a way to make it happen. It’s funny what this work does to you. You find ways to be able to work and create, and ways to make the images in your head come to life.
So, how exactly did this collaboration begin with yours truly? The foundation of it was the clients... How could I be a part of creating something incredible for the clients? I want what I’m a part of to bring value to others and I want my efforts to be of service. I needed to find people that would embrace that type of value.
We needed to dress and adorn our models with and in beautiful things; things that people were making & curating. In my way of thinking, I needed to anchor the whole project on value proposition. Whoever had the faith to come on board and see this vision through, whoever had the nerve to invest in this type of marketing resource, I wanted them to be overjoyed and walk away with an image bank that elevated their brand and multiplied their investment. ( “Start the car! Start the caaaaarrrrr!!!!” )
The beautiful people that trusted me and joined me were the brilliant Tammy Cashato of Cashato Designs and the genius behind the brands at Arrow & Axe, Denai Bell. I had advertised this as “the romantic collective”. The match were those that could channel the whimsical and feminine nature that I had envisioned. Once a couple of amazing entrepreneurs were on board the rest of the crew took shape. We found our talented models Keirah Hall and Geneve Miller, and the crew that would get the girls camera ready Makeup Artist Candace Janisch, and Hairdresser Brittany Bingham.
The shoot came together bit by bit. Creative direction, locations, props, styling, and all the ideas in between. Then finally the day came to capture it all. I said at one point “I feel like I’m gathering treasures”, and Denai replied with “you are”. It’s the kind of work day that dreams are made of. The whole team was making plans “let’s do this again!” before I even had a chance to ask.
Moving forward all of those involved will be tagging and mentioning the others. That’s the deal, that’s what makes this special. It also brings us full circle to the collective portion. As we all use the images that have been made possible because of a group effort, we hope to reach audiences that are new and interested in what we’re doing so we can continue to be creative and bring value to them too. I hope these images do amazing things for everyone that was a part of them and that we’re all on trajectory to keep our creative spirits high,
If you missed this one or are just hearing about it, the good news is there will be more. Get on the wait list for future collectives. Fill out the form here.
