When i was asked to shoot my sisters costumes, the first question was, do you want to go modern or keep it period and traditional? Rochelle is studying costume design at Ultimo TAFE and her work is stunning! This is one of the plainer costumes in terms of fabric, but the style, fit and attention to detail is mind boggling for me. All undergarments including traditional corset, bustle and petticoat were made by hand and and she even made the hat!

“Oh, I dont mind…” was the response. “I trust your vision.” Dangerous words. “I just need a mix of full body shots and close ups of the details, happy days!” – No worries, that i can do, but I wanted a little bit more than documenting the costume and it’s construction. I wanted these photos to shine and connect with the viewer.

The best way, I thought, was to have the costume on location and construct a story that fit with the period nature of the piece. The costume is Edwardian, so turn of the century 1901-1920 and quite british in its feel. Rochelle told me it was a walking suit, so not particularly formal, just everyday wear for the period.

Centennial gardens first came to mind with its ponds, lawns and picturesque weeping willows. i though we couple shoot on location and it would feel like an English garden. However, wouldnt that setting be more effective with a young girl and her suitor, or two young women gossiping away from the eyes and ears of their noble fathers? Hmmm… So then I thought about a very atmospheric graveyard with a beautiful old church, St Stephen’s in Camperdown.

I was still undecided on the shoot day, but the weather was turning grey and looked a little uncertain but very moody, so church and graveyard it is. The premise: “A lone young woman, lost in thoughts at a future that could have been, if only her lover were here to share it.” Depending on each particular setup, we constructed little stories together. Outside the church and cemetery undertakers cottage called for a lighter mood. She is in white, so maybe she is attending a wedding, or christmas, maybe Sunday Mass? Some photos of the cottage appeared like she was leaving the house to run her daily errands, or posing with a newly acquired property.

Shanaye, Rochelle and my younger sister, modelled the costume and she looked great! Even though we were only shooting stills, these little stories helped us to get on the same page with the kind of shots we were aiming for and the feeling we were trying to reveal, which informed not only pose, attitude and emotion but the composition, angle and exposure of the shot as well. Its all in the eyes. It was a beautiful graveyard, but also quite sad with the number of families with young children laid to rest there, which really set the sombre tone for much of shoot.

I think the emotion is really clear, particularly in Shanayes pose and attitude. Her expressions are perfect, but its all there in the eyes. I think the sense of loss is really there. We are all extremely happy with the result and very cinematic. I can almost here the orchestra playing and a soft monologue….sounds like another project to work on! I cant wait!

For this set of images, Rochelle requested that they are representative of the actual colours of the garment with very little adjustment for folio. Natural colours are also important for Shanayes acting/dance folio, so although I am interested to possibly try a different colour grade, maybe make them look like prints taken in 1901, the natural colours are pretty powerful and removes the images from being too ‘emo,’ ‘goth’ or dissmissed as another piece of ‘dark art,’ which is not really the point of the project, or the feeling we want to convey.

To see all the photos, check out the projects page or click here!