Net A Porter II

So, I managed to power through my first day, week, photo shoot (the subsequent returns session) and come out the other side to face what I hoped would be a less daunting second week! It was the first, but definitely not the last, time I was given sole responsibility for packing the clothes, shoes, accessories and kit bag- preparing for every possible eventuality during shoots was now officially my responsibility.. Of course, this is what I had been waiting for for so many months! The opportunity to prove I can plan, think ahead, anticipate any problems and deal with them calmly and efficiently. In theory. The reality, however, is very different from this when the shoes are too big for the model's feet, the photographer isn't happy with the shots and you're nearing 12 hours on set. Riiiight around this point my contingency plans flew out of the window. I was feeling flustered, anxious that I might not be doing what I was meant to be doing, that I wasn't doing enough or even, God forbid, that this somehow might be my fault. This is the situation I found myself in during what I thought would be my easier second week.. 

However, before long everybody had sprung into action- defiant in the face of these minor crises. Though the impending office Christmas party later that evening probably helped with that somewhat! Before long we had the willowy photographer's assistant, an unbelievable stroke of luck given she was a former model, striding up and down the make shift runway in Charlotte Olympia heels and even the photographer's mood had lifted- signified by the upbeat tones of Rihanna thumping through the studio. The 12 hours on set couldn't be helped in the end but seeing everyone dressed up in their finery, looking pristine despite spending most of the day crouching over a monitor evaluating each shot and with smiles all round at the end of the day I knew we'd done a good job. Seeing the images go live on the website shortly after was even better and something new to me- it provides the type of instantaneous satisfaction that you rarely get with print. 

All in all, it was an altogether new experience. At its core styling a shoot for a website rather than a page in a magazine might be largely the same but the subtle differences between the two make a huge difference. There have been times during shoots for various other magazines where things don't work out exactly as planned, but these things can often be tweaked at a later date either by the photographer or the art team. Since a proportion of the shoot for The Outnet is shot as a video the expanse of space between the model's heel and the back of the shoe couldn't simply be erased or filled in; not to mention that it was a walking shot- effectively turning the gorgeous festive heels into ill fitting flip flops. I'm sure there's a lot more to learn about the difficulties that come with shooting a full story and more on a weekly basis, but this was a good place to start!