#01 BEHIND THE SCENES: "Lost in Sydney" an Editorial for Cake Magazine.

The story of an accidental editorial.

As some of you may know, in my last few months in Australia I moved to the Whitsundays area. During this time, I planned a week-long trip back to Sydney to shoot with the intention to dive into the editorial world. That’s how this shoot came to life.

THE CONCEPT

I proposed an editorial concept to Marina, an amazing stylist who I’ve worked with before and spoiler alert: it didn’t go as planned and we never submitted it. We love working together so much that she asked me to do another shoot that week and sent me a city moodboard that I absolutely loved. This mood was very similar to some photos I had on one of my Pinterest boards (of course) so we exchanged a few references and prepared the concept, that way Marina could source the outfits.

I really like when someone comes to me with a concept instead of the other way around. It’s really fun to bring other people’s ideas to life. 

THE TEAM

I talked with Jolina, my amazing model, before I left for Whitsundays, but we couldn’t make it work then. When Marina sent me this concept, I knew Jolina was perfect for it, and I was right. She brought such good energy during the shoot! Walking down the CBD streets, I suggested a spot, and it was like she read my mind, posing exactly as I imagined. She was so good that I struggled to keep up with my camera, as film usually requires a slow pace.

Monica, our hair and makeup artist, connected with me through Instagram after I posted a story looking for a HMUA. She ended up being available for both shoots I had planned, so we first met each other on this shoot. I am so happy she joined, Monica is incredibly talented and super fun to work with!

Marina, our stylist, and I met through a Facebook group post I made when I was starting out. We were thrilled to discover we were both Argentinians living in Sydney. It’s always special to find people from your home country when living abroad, but working together on something you both love is even better. Marina also brought her friend Marina B to assist with styling, who saved the day by bringing the last outfit, which was perfect, as the fit we had in mind didn’t work.

There’s something very special about working with a team of women, each of them doing their jobs with so much passion and dedication, supporting each other. You can feel there’s a beautiful energy in the atmosphere, and the outcomes are amazing every time.

THE EQUIPMENT

This editorial was shot entirely on 35 mm film: Portra 400 & 800, using my Canon Eos 5 and a 50mm 1.8 lens. 

THE LOCATION

We shot in the Sydney CBD. I’ve done quite a few shoots here, so I always have a few spots I like in mind, but for this one, the stylist asked me for location references, so I did a little scouting, and took photos of my favorite corners of the city. 

On the shoot day, we did respect some of these locations, but the weather was really cloudy and dark, so we ended up walking around and improvising. The city can be really crowded sometimes, so this is also a factor to consider when choosing the photo locations. 

On Instagram, someone asked me: when the day has such a constant diffused light, how do I choose the background/spot where I pose the model, as light is not a big problem.

So, to answer, this will vary with each photographer's taste. I, personally, don’t plan every single photo of a shoot, I go more with my intuition. I look around and try to find a suitable spot I like and aligns with the mood I have in mind. I like my models to pop, so I try to find a simple or minimalist background where she can shine. Other times when there’s something really interesting around, I’d make her interact with it and I’d include it in the picture, like these fountain ones. 

Something I find important to mention, is that since I only shoot on film, I’d usually pose the model in my chosen spot and If I look through the viewfinder and I don't like what I see, then I don't shoot the photo. I direct my model to move somewhere else, or do something else. I only have 36 frames in a film roll to get the results I want and every frame counts if we want to make the best of it.

Another thing I noticed is that the outfits and the backgrounds have harmonious colors. This is not something I planned beforehand, as I said, I mostly follow my intuition to compose the photo, but I guess it is something I have subconsciously incorporated, and plays an important part when choosing the perfect spot. 

When we had to shoot the green outfit, I purposely chose an overall white/grey background to avoid overwhelming the photo with too many elements, as there’s people in the back and the fit was already very interesting to look at.

PUBLISHING

As I said before, my intention this week was to add some shoots to my portfolio, and publish them in online magazines. I had a specific shoot in mind I wanted to create for a magazine, but on the shoot day nothing worked as planned. There was a heat wave, we had a shorter time than we thought, we couldn’t do more than 2 outfits, and I knew inside the photos will not be good for publishing.

On the other hand, during this shoot, proposed by my stylist and with no intention of publishing it anywhere, I had the feeling I was creating some of my favorite photos and this material would be amazing.

I made a list of publications that I wanted to submit stories to, and as soon as I received the photos back from the lab I knew this one would be perfect for Cake Magazine. I gave them a little edit, and then submitted my selection to them by email.

I got a positive answer within a week, and the story was published 7 days after the confirmation. You can see it on Cake’s website HERE or my selection HERE.

The editorial world is definitely something I want to keep exploring, so you can expect to find more of this kind of work coming soon!

Please let me know if you find this type of posts useful and, as always, if you have any other doubts please feel free to comment here, or email/message me on socials.

Florencia

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Photographer: Florencia Olsson @__byflorencia

Stylist: Marina Yanil Acevedo @marinayanil

MODEL: Jolina Sofie @jolinasofie

HMUA: Monica Gutierrez @monicagmakeup

Stylist assistant: Marina Bustinza @marinbs

Scanned & Developed by: IKIGAIFILMLAB