“Can you help me with a photoshoot for the Spring collection on Monday?”
This random text appeared on my phone on a Friday afternoon. I laughed before answering: “As long as I’m: 1. Not a model 2. Don’t have to do hair and makeup as I can barely do my own.” Ever since starting work for SweetGeorgia Yarns in June of 2017 I’ve been asked to do a lot of things: edit a podcast, contact show guests, write/edit blog posts, help film, edit course materials, teach course materials, and upload a ton of colourway photos. I’m not complaining, this is one of my favourite things about my job; it’s a constantly changing adventure (mostly due to Felicia’s never-ending ideas and projects she comes up with!) I enjoy this because I never get bored, and I learn a variety of skills. Felicia also has an infectious enthusiasm about her, she always shoots for the moon and soon you find yourself caught up in her excitement and become as passionate about the new project as she is. I had never been involved in a photoshoot before, but I was looking forward to the new experience.
So, on a rainy Monday morning, Felicia and I set out to pick up our model, a bright young woman named Sherena, from Faye Smith Makeup and Hair and we headed over to The Candy Aisle, a candy store in downtown Vancouver. Since we’ve introduced bright and cheery colours this spring named after classic sweet treats, the colourful background of the store matched perfectly with the new collection. I have to admit that I left with a bag of candy for myself, justifying that we should support the businesses that so kindly let us use their space.
Sherena modelling our super sweet Sugar Pop shawl
We didn’t have enough time that day to shoot the entire collection, so on Wednesday Felicia and I were once again traveling in the pouring rain to pick up our model for the day, Corinne. Our first location for the day was Kranky Cafe, which is a stone’s throw away from the original SweetGeorgia studio at 4th and Main. Since we had arrived a bit early, Felicia and I sat in the cafe. “We used to come here every day,” Felicia said with nostalgia as she gazed around the tiny cafe that had various plants and twinkle lights set up around its cozy interior. After our brief break, we met with Corinne and started the shots for the day. The cafe had a perfect ambiance of warmth and comfort that matched the gentle and delicate nature of our spring collection.
Our final location was Finch’s Tea House. After circling endlessly trying to find parking, we finally got inside and order some sandwiches and drinks. Finch’s has such a comfortable feel to the place, nothing matches as everything has seemingly been acquired secondhand and it was so enjoyable to joke with Corinne about our eternal love of sandwiches while the rain pelted the windows outside. Now that I reflect back on those days, the photoshoot reflected our new spring collection perfectly. Using cosy cafes to capture the lightness and softness of the new pieces and then throwing in a fun candy shop to show off the excitement and childlike wonder of our more colourful pieces. Our lovely models also reflected perfectly the fun of our new collection. One of our models commented how she usually participates in bridal shoots where she is required to look “fierce” and “sexy” all the time, so she was enjoying being able to casually smile and laugh at the camera.
Corinne modelling our cozy Clareta shrug in Finch’s Tea House
Delicious sandwiches from Finch’s! (And our massive pile of knitwear, coats, purses, etc!)
My job for the shoot was essentially to be a second pair of hands and eyes, help arrange the knit pieces so they would photograph well and keep a lookout that we weren’t getting in the way of any customers so we didn’t annoy the businesses. I am a person who really needs their personal space, so I would always apologize profusely to the models before adjusting their hair or clothes for them (even though I’m sure as models, they are used to that and don’t mind). Something else that struck me was how confident the models were. Since we were in pretty busy areas of Vancouver, we got a lot of curious glances from passers-by yet our models didn’t even seem to notice or care. I’m not a super confident person and I hate being the centre of attention! If I had so many strangers staring at me, I think I’d be looking for a hole to crawl into so I really admired Sherena and Corinne’s confidence in themselves.
Helping with the spring collection photoshoot was a really fun experience; it was great to explore some wonderful places around Vancouver and to help create the shots that really bring our new patterns to life. The patterns are all available individually or in an eBook, both here on our site and on Ravelry. I hope everyone enjoys the new patterns and that you choose beautiful yarns that warm you and colours that sing to your heart.
– Leah
