When Stylist and London College of Style Lecturer Rebekah Roy asked me to assist her on a celebrity cover shoot it was something I was going to clear the diary for!
Working with Rebekah Roy for Kimberly Wyatt on this photo shoot was nothing short of a 5* opportunity to learn from a Super Stylist with all the creative glamour I am excited to incorporate into my own work and learning on the job with Rebekah was fantastic.
The clothes and accessories for the shoot were a mix of timeless and minimal pieces paired with iconic pieces. Looks were from Baukjen, Wolford and Isabella Oliver, The Savage by Sarah Regensburger, Ada Zanditon, Koi footwear and Carat to name a few. This collection curated by Rebekah Roy created a Fierce Rock Chick vibe for Kimberlys maternity cover shoot for the October issue of Blow Out Magazine.
So what does an Assistant Stylist do on a celebrity photo shoot?
Well its a busy day behind the camera. The clothes are delivered and it's time to start unpacking the items ready to hang, steam and look perfect for the client to choose outfits from with some expert guidance from Rebekah and her team of assistants. It's important to touch the clothes and feel them to get to know how they can move and feel against the skin. As this was a maternity shoot Kimberly needed to wear stretchy fabrics to sit next to the skin to show off her perfect baby bump and be comfortable and easily move in them. To look at how items can work together to create different outfits and looks for the shoot and make sure the client feels comfortable in each outfit so the photos are confident and strong.
With two different celebrities doing shoots on the same day in the same venue it was of the upmost importance to keep the clothes and accessories tidy and separated so there was no confusion as to which looks were for which person.
I chatted to the make - up and hair stylists so I could deeper understand the look we were all working to achieve for Kimberly and the magazine. It's a team that create the photos and being aware of all aspects of the styling is helpful to enable making the best use of the time with the client to get the best photos possible for the magazine.
We learn that when working with the cover girl or guy to ask questions about what they are comfortable with or if there is something they would rather not wear so that you don't pick garments out from the rail which could make them feel uncomfortable. They may have some ideas or items to add to the shoot making it more personal to them.
When Kimberly was ready in her first outfit it's time to head to the shoot! A stylist assistant is no use on set unless I can see what the photographer can see. Constantly looking for imperfections in the clothes, folds in the garment, a skirt riding up or lining showing, a twisted earring or ladder in a stocking. Whatever it is, those photos with errors cannot be used so it's the styling teams job to check that the clothes look perfect at all times flattering the client and evoking the right look at all times. Yes I did indeed at one point have to ask the photographer to pause for a moment to un twist a diamond earring.
This shoot was on a windy roof in changeable light so I, along with other members of the photo shoot team, put on my photographers' assistant hat and held a white board to create perfect light fill for the shoot. I loved to watch the photographer, the movement created in these photos is from Kimberly's experienced professional dance and performance back ground and also from the experience of the talented photographer Erica Bergsmeds. There were so many angles used on this shoot by Erica it was beautiful to watch. I am in awe of great photographers. Photography is an art that captures moments, style, nature, emotion, that shot is captured forever, it is a truly special medium to our world. Erica taught me how to manipulate a garment to create perspective, it's all in the detail.
Kimberly's Blow Out edition looks effortlessly cool and fierce with beautiful, energetic photos and I'm proud to have been a part of something so special to Kimberly being her maternity cover and beautiful for the world to see.
Thank you to Rebekah Roy and to London College of Style!
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