By request: how Tony and I do vintage outfit shoots

This past March, in the comment section of a vintage spring outfit post, the immensely lovely Harlow Darling of Vintage at Heart left the following, sweeter-than-sweet comment and question:

"Tony is such a fantastic photographer and you make a great team. My boy still has so much to learn but I am so grateful to have him to take photos! Do you think you'd ever do a post about how the two of you take blog photos? I'd love to hear about the process that goes into your wonderful blog posts."

Now, if you're a fan and follower of Harlow's, then you'll likely already know that the outfit photos she posts are knock-your-socks-off gorgeous. From the ethereally lovely sunlight that bathes her in many, to the stellar, diverse range of places she takes beautifully styled snapshots in (including the sea and zoo, to name but a couple), it's impossible to spend time on her blog and not fall in love with the elegance, romance, and timeless charm of her vintage outfit photos. In fact, I've often thought of her as a source of inspiration for me on this very front, which made it all the more touching when she said what she did.

I love answering as many questions from my wonderful readers as I possibly can, and all the better if one lends itself to a blog post, which I felt that Harlow's really did – especially because it's not the first time I've been asked about something pertaining to photographs that appear in my wardrobe related posts here.

At first, I must admit, I felt like I could explain the process in a thirty second elevator pitch, because there is nothing overly complex about how we go about taking snaps, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that doing so would be selling everyone involved a bit short.

To begin with, it should be noted for the record, that (for all intentions - occasionally my mom or sister has snapped a photo of Tony and I together that was used in a post here) Tony is the only person who has ever photographed me for the purpose of this blog.

I am, by no means, a model and I've never even given serious thought to hiring another photographer. This isn't to say I wouldn't work with someone locally if they were interested, but I've not been approached, and having a skilled part-time photographer as a husband, it wouldn't make sense to me from a financial standpoint to pay someone for shots that Tony is more than capable of taking. Perhaps the one exception to that would be indoor studio photos, because as I've chatted about before (such as here), really do not have much in the way of indoor lighting in our condo (but Tony is in the process of acquiring the right lighting equipment to facilitate that).

As things have gone so far though, again, Tony has been my one and only photographer and that has worked out great for both of us. Having had a longstanding passion for photography, but a full-time career in an entirely different field, taking my photo gives Tony a chance to frequently indulge in his passion for the art of the lens, and I get to feel comfortable in front of it because it's my husband taking the snaps (I'm tremendously shy and self-conscious, so there's really no one I'd feel more comfortable taking pictures with than my hubby of nine years).

Now, as most of you know from past posts, my health often makes leaving the house impossible for me. Some months I might feel well enough to head out on three of four different days, other times I may go two months or longer without a single day at all when doing so is possible. As a result, the majority of the time when I am well enough to head out - even if it's just for a day of running errands or yard saling, we pack the camera along and aim to take photos at some point.

In terms of the equipment we currently use, Tony generally shoots with his Canon 30D, or more, recently, his amazing new Canon 6D (goodness, do we both adore this serious workhorse of a camera!), which he purchased while we were in Calgary last month. On a small handful of occasions, he's also shot with my Canon XSi Rebel. We have a great little point and shoot camera, too, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5, but so far it's only been used in one of our shoots (that being when we went to a petting zoo last year). There have also been a few times when we took photos using Tony's iPhone 4S, such as this night of fishing and this rainy day spent at the Beach City Beach Cruise.

Generally speaking, we aim to use the 6D or 30D, but sometimes, just depending on circumstances, it is more convenient, practical, or in keeping with the weather, to use the iPhone, and since Tony has it on him at virtually all times when we're out and about, it's pretty much guarantees us the ability to take photos in nearly any setting or time of day until at least dusk.

Now, when it comes to the locations we're taking pics in, we often let the day itself dictate where we end up snapping away. Though we have made photo shoots the sole focus of our outings occasionally, more often than not, we take photos either before, in the midst of, of after doing various other things (ranging from grocery shopping to visiting relatives) while out and about.

This isn't to say that everything is done on the fly, it's certainly not. If I'm feeling well enough to go out and I think (or know) that taking photos is going to be in the cards, I'll try and put together an outfit that I want to appear here on the blog. Sometimes I may have a specific garment, accessory or other element of my outfit that I want (or need, in the case of a review item) to share with all of you, other times I'll just let my mood, the weather, and where we're headed lead my choice of ensemble. I adore dressing up and love that the photos we take allow me to share my beloved vintage wardrobe with all of you week after week, month after month.

Camera in hand, outfit, hair and make-up done, we'll head out and go from there. Sometimes, especially if it's later in the day and we know that it might be dark by the time we get home, we'll try to take photos first (frequently, when such is the case, opting to do so in our front yard, such as this tartan ensemble from late last year). On others, we may go about our day, doing the things we want/need to, and then drive around town or a neighbouring community (or town) for a little while, scouting for a spot that would make for a good backdrop (which is, interestingly, precisely how we found the spot where we shot the pictures for the post that prompted Harlow's question).

I've always enjoyed a spot of on-the-fly adventure, and taking this approach to location scouting provides just that (it's also lead to discovering some really beautiful areas that I'd never even stepped foot in before we came across them together, such as the wonderfully quaint community of Ellison, B.C., located just on the outskirts of Kelowna).

Occasionally it's also meant scrambling to find a suitable backdrop before the sun set or the weather became too brutal (this day in May 2012 spring to mind in the case of the latter), but even there, one has to enjoy the challenge. We're shooting for fun after all, not because there's money involved or we're working on a deadline. It's a hobby in this context, and one that consistently remains fun because we don't have a lot of rules in place when it comes to how each shoot unfolds.



{No matter the season, setting, or available light, Tony's skill as a photographer has ensured one enjoyable, terrific photo shoot after another.}


There have certainly been times, too, when we knew long before leaving the house that we were wanted to take photos at a specific location. Three that spring to mind just off the top of my head have been the S.S. Sicamous, the aforementioned Peach City Beach Cruise, and Bear's Fruit Stand.

Aside from our own little front yard (we don't have a backyard, as our condo is part of a four home unit and there's another unit on the other side of our back walls), one place that we've turned to often for shots taken locally has been my mom and step-dad's house - specifically their backyard and deck, both of which are often bathed in beautiful light.

When it comes to taking pictures, if time permits, it's not uncommon for Tony to shoot anywhere from one to three hundred (and occasionally more) photos. He's a fan of close-up face shots in particular (as he loves to take portraits in general), whereas I tend to favour full (or almost) full body snaps that show off as much of my outfit as possible, so we aim for a mixture of both with every shoot.

Though there have been a couple of times when we took photos a different locations on the same day (while I was wearing the same outfit), typically we only do one shoot a day and try to keep it to about 15 minutes or less (especially because it's often difficult for me to stand for more than a few minutes at a time, and to date we've not included my wheelchair, which I sometimes use when out and about, in any of our shoots). After we get home (or the next day, just depending on how late it is and/or what else we need to do) we upload the photos, and I go to work editing them.

I'm a huge fan of minimally edited photos in the sense that - unless for artistic effect - I don't do a lot of retouching or heavy editing. I have a professional background in photography myself (specifically product photography), so editing at a basic level is a snap for me. Tony absolutely knows how to do this kind of editing himself, too, it's just that he has an extremely busy work schedule and I also enjoy editing, so I'm more than happy to handle this step of our photographic process.

When I say editing, in this context, by and large what I'm talking about is selecting the photos that I want to use in a future post, cropping, adjusting the lighting, highlights and/or shadows (if need be), perhaps applying a very minor (in the sense of scarcely detectable) filter, or removing any glaring blemishes.

It's incredibly important to me - in any context - that I present a really realistic version of myself. I could doctor my face (and even body) if I wanted to while editing (Photoshop wasn't turned into an active verb for no reason!), but I have zero desire to do this. I certainly don't love everything about my appearance, but what would bother me a lot more than a wrinkle here or a curvy calf there, is someone meeting me in real life and feeling like I'd presented a false version of myself online to the world on a routine basis (again, I'm not a model and these photos are just for fun, so there's no reason - short of pure vanity - for me to become a digital plastic surgeon).

Once I've edited the photos (sometimes there's little to no editing, beyond selecting and perhaps cropping the images themselves, needed), I either set to work on a blog post right then and there, or tuck them away for use later on when I have more time (or feel well enough) to write.

That, my dears, is it. I'm sure that the process from start to finish that I've just outlined here is very similar to the one followed by many vintage and non-vintage fashion bloggers the world over.

I like to inject diversity into both my outfits and where we shoot, so while some locations will (and have) certainly appear here on multiple occasions, we also strive to find new spots to shoot in, and even keep a list of possible places to taken snaps in (which I nicknamed our "phosholo" - short for photo shoot location - list).

We're blessed to live in a gorgeous part of British Columbia that's teeming with beaches, arid desert-like hills, forests, and urban settings, and between those, my parent's house, and our own little front yard, I think we could easily keep shooting for decades and never run out of interesting locations.

It is my profound hope that just this is able to happen, as I truly love sharing both our passion for photography, as well as my vintage outfits, with all of you. These photos are also stand as a wonderful reminder of the adventures - both big and small - that Tony I get to enjoy throughout the course of our daily life together, and I'm sure that we'll always look back on them and be grateful that we have these beautiful digital keepsakes of times gone by.

Thank you, dear Harlow, for your terrific comment and the opportunity it gave me to delve into this topic in greater detail with all of my lovely blog readers.

And, last but in no way least, thank you from the bottom of my heart, Tony, for always waiting patiently while I get dressed and ready to go out, and for taking the fantastic photographs that enrich this blog - and my life - immeasurably. I am grateful beyond words that you are my own personal photographer and precious husband.