When I create a garment, I also have a specific idea of how I'd like to photograph it. As any artist will know, as frustrating as it can be, your art is only as good as your photography. When I jury my pieces for shows, the only thing that juror will see is a digital image. My art doesn't mean anything if that image doesn't accurately represent it. This was a really hard thing to learn early on in my days creating art, but I am so thankful for a couple of really helpful people who have made all the difference in the world.
One of these people is my mother-in-law. She's been absolutely fabulous to be a fashion photographer with a very crazy artist here at the helm. My crazy ideas could get the best of me one of these days.....
I had only a few days to get this piece photographed before it left for a show. And I wanted to photograph it while standing in a field of golden corn with a stretching panorama of endless sky in the background, maybe even a sunrise. Sounds simple and straightforward, right?
Did I mention this was in October? That time of the year where I'm from, there's combines running 24/7 to get those fields of golden corn harvested. So the corn field I was thinking of using actually got combined a few days before our photo shoot. Since plan A was foiled, we went for plan B- and ran from field to field looking for brighter colored corn, corn that didn't look weather-beaten and corn that was facing an eastern sky.
It was a blustery fall day, as well, so the brisk wind made the dress dance and move.... sometimes not necessarily in the right ways! I had to hold the edge down with my toes on a few of the shots! It was a challenge, but you know me.... when I get an idea in my head, there's no turning back!
My mother-in-law was gracious and captured some lovely images of the piece. I do love the idea of shooting in our beautiful rural surroundings. It brings to life the panorama that oftentimes inspired the piece in the first place. I hope to try more farmland-backdrops in the future. There is nothing quite like beautiful art in a beautiful place!
