DOMESTIC ISOLATION

May 31

The Adventures of two Roommates trapped in Quarantine

Inspiration can come from anywhere… It can come from a movie, a song, a location, a conversation, a friend, etc… But in the case of this photoshoot, it came from a work of art…

My studio is located in an old cotton factory building, aptly named The Cotton Factory. It has been renovated and transformed into studios for artists, photographers, and all sorts of creative people. While walking through the building recently, I came across an art installation that was life-size paper furniture, and I was immediately fascinated by it. The display was an armchair, a side table, with a bowl of fruit on it, and an old fashion TV. All made of white paper material. My first thought was “WOW! This is so creative and original!!” but my immediate second thought was “this would make a terrific set for a photoshoot!”

I went in to meet the artist, a lovely and talented woman named Susan Barton-Tait. When I looked around her studio, I noticed she had so many other complimentary pieces that could help in telling the story I wanted to convey in my shoot. I introduced myself to Susan, and explained what my idea was, and she was immediately on board and willing to loan out her art pieces for a photoshoot.

I started creating a concept… My concept was to use Susan Barton-Tait’s furniture as the living room of a house where 2 girls with big personalities were roommates. I wanted to depict the different experiences they might have together, and the things they would do.

So now I had part of a concept, but I still needed to decide how to visually approach it. I had 2 ideas.

Idea 1: Everything White (…ish). Since the furniture was all white, I wanted the models to wear white, and have white powdery skin . If there was to be any colour it would have been very faded and soft. No harsh blacks, only greys, no real contrast in colour or tones. The mood would be ethereal and dreamy, like the girls were in a fantasy land.

Idea 2: Contrast. I wanted the models to be extremely colourful, to be the opposite of the white furniture. Their makeup and clothing would have strong colours, it would be dramatic and intense. Their personalities would be bold, loud, and lots of attitude.

I went with idea #2.

Whenever I shoot a personal project, I try to have a purpose for the shoot. Sometimes the purpose is to get published in a magazine, sometimes it’s new fresh images for the website… This time I decided to do it for an upcoming event. The Cotton Factory was having an Open House/Art Show, so I thought it would be fun to do a fashion shoot in front of a live audience, and then project the images on a large screen as I was shooting.

I also had the hair, makeup, and wardrobe stations visible. This way the audience could witness the entire process of the shoot, as well as see the results on a screen.

I assembled my team and models. I chose people whom I knew would be able to pull off what I envisioned and would have no problem working under pressure in front of a live audience. Also, the team I chose were no strangers to me, and all people I absolutely love working with.

I sent my team the moodboards and ideas for the shoot, but they still had the freedom to be creative in their interpretation, as long as it was still consistent with the concept.

The night of the event was a huge success. Well, we also had wine and appetizers for the guests, which greatly helps to bring people into the studio, but none-the-less the studio was constantly busy, people were hanging around watching the whole production, asking questions, socializing, etc. The feedback was terrific and we found that shooting live was actually very interesting and exciting.

Behind the Scenes video courtesy of the team

I did not intend this shoot to be a prediction, and I had no clue what was awaiting us in the near future, but exactly one week after the shoot, because of the Corona Virus, we were all quarantined to our homes. I began looking through the images and I realized that the concept for the shoot mimicked what would have happened to 2 roommates in quarantine. Two girls stuck in a room with limited resources, keeping themselves entertained the best they know how, having good times and troubling times…. It almost feels like the shoot had foreshadowed what was about to happen…