anatomy of a knitwear photoshoot

 I was blabbing with a friend about my activities leading up to a photo shoot for Green Mountain Spinnery last week, and she was surprised at all the stuff going into it. I thought maybe you'd like to know, too?  We haven't done the final editing, so consider these a peek.

Looks like a simple photo, right? Here're all the parts:
•  The design itself:  the Gulfoss sweater, by Cap Sease.  (The sweater link is to their existing image, on Ravelry.  I am updating their look.)
• The rest of her wardrobe. I shopped for the shirt (borrowed & returned after the shoot). I was a teeny bit obsessed with finding plum & white gingham. The jeans & boots belong to the model, who brought 4 pair of each that day,  at my request.
•  Karen, my model, is a real person.  Yes, she looks like this. I know, it is unfair.  She's an acquaintance I've been keeping in mind in case the right sweater came along for her.  I recruited her and her hubby for the shoot.  (It took a bit of persuasion).
• Her hair & makeup, by Jill, my super talented makeup/hair/groomer wizard. She knows what she is doing. Everyone looks like a best version of themselves-  fabulously natural. 
• Her hairstyle--in the weeks leading up to the shoot, I collected images on a Pinterest board with the feel, or detail, or  textural combination, or pose, that related to this shoot in my imagination. A styling moodboard.  I sent a link to the board to Jill, who figured out how to do the fishtail braid just right for sweater modeling (stylish, outdoorsy , and doesn't block the sweater yoke!).
• The location: I spent a day (plus some)  driving and stomping around sites that were close to each other, had good colors or textures for the background, fit the theme I was imagining, checking where the light was falling, and not too far from our homebase where changes and makeup (and warming up) were happening. Scouting is more time consuming than you'd think.
•  Posing- well, you need to direct the scene. Otherwise the most important details of a sweater might get lost.  I was trying to get the yoke to appear against the upper color of the boat, to sort of frame it.

Pretty sure this won't be the select for the scarves, but it's good for my post. Love these two!

The shopping and wardrobe can be the hardest for me . What you put together, and the little details,  can totally change the look of the knitwear. Which is why it is called styling. I like coming up with the ideas or the themes,  but I just don't like shopping that much.  If there is budget, a photo stylist does this important task. I love photo stylists. Like, here, both models are wearing pairs of my boots. I shopped for the shirts, and the bracelets and earrings were a combo of borrowed & shopped for.  Giuliana (on the left) is wearing a  pair of vanilla jeans that belong to Yliana, on the right. Both are freeeeeeezzzzzzing.

You can tell  the temperature by how the client, Margaret from Green Mountain, is dressed. And she is a Vermonter! It.was.so.cold. The shawl went to my queue, stat.

So, when I scouted, there was a beautiful sleek horse next to one location,  who just wanted to be petted and nuzzle me. When we were shooting, instead of my loveydovey, there was a grizzled older horse in the pasture--and I'm not so sure he's into knitwear fashion.

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Two comments about links and a (literal) footnote:

If you click on the Green Mountain Spinnery link in the first 'graph, you'll find some really excellent stretching /PT advice for sore wrists and handstress on their front page.

Cap Sease, who designed that Icelandic influenced cardi,  is the author of the best selling Cast On, Bind Off, which is linked to her name, You ought to own this book!

and finally, the boots on the left that Giuliana are wearing, are mine courtesy of Ann of Purling Swine and The Village Knitter. Ask her for the story behind them, it's a good one.