Thursday, 25 March 2010

my second ever styling shoot... fridges (lucky me!)



I almost completely forgot that my second ever styling shoot has just appeared in the April 10 issue of Real Living magazine. Lucky me - I was asked to source and prop fridges! It seemed like some cruel test. How can ANYONE make them look good. They're just large rectangular boxes. So I researched like crazy to find great styles (always with an eye to cost and energy efficiency). On the upside of the brief was that I got to shoot with uber photographer Prue Ruscoe, who you might know not only from her extensive magazine work but also the books she's done with Shannon Fricke. I've worked with her previously - but as a subject (she shot the photo of me on the sofa that's in the JanFeb 10 issue of Real Living).

So the shoot day was full on - not quite so manic as the office shoot - but still crazy. I was also shooting another "best of the best" feature, which will run in the May 10 issue. The fridges arrived - well, most of them - and we had to shuffle them into place. I had a fairly good idea of how I wanted them placed as I didn't want to be moving them too much but still there were changes due to the proportions of them. It's not until you see them side by side that you get a real sense of the size. I was also worried that the stripey Smeg fridge would dominate the shot if brought to the front, but at Prue's suggestion we put it quite central to the shot and it worked. Then there was a LOT of work getting the lighting right because of the reflective surfaces. As soon as we got the shots then the delivery drivers arrived to collect the metal monoliths and me and my little posse of workies scrambled to pack up and set up for the next shoot.

Love to know what you think.

images courtesy of real living and prue ruscoe

13 comments:

Estelle said...

Funnily enough, I have just been ogling this very shoot, how sexy is the black LG! and the SMEG well, goes without saying really doesn't it.
When it comes to styling, fridges must be up there with some of the hardest things to make look visually interesting (somewhere behind politicians but in front of washing machines I'm guessing).
I love how you've used colourful everyday items to create interest and punch.
I look forward to seeing more of your work!

cerebral e said...

I really liked this editorial! Not that I need a new fridge but it's nice to look! I liked the little photo of Hijirik's "Live What You Love" poster on one of the fridges.

julie said...

Looks great - love how you have used the additional props to make the shoot interesting and colourful. Fridges alone can be a little boring and clinical but this is so not! I have always wanted a Smeg fridge, I just wish they made them a little bigger (and cheaper) :)

Natalie Walton said...

Estelle - you won't believe the lengths I went to get that black fridge. I just HAD to have it in the shoot. It looks hot, don't you think?! Thanks for your kind words. x

Natalie Walton said...

Thanks, Julie. I realised I had to have objects with interesting shapes - hence the Molar Stool from Mao & More - love that colour, too. The lights helped as well, I think, offsetting the boxy shapes. n x

Natalie Walton said...

Uglygirl - you either have really good eyesight or you've seen the feature in the mag as it's very small on this pic (will try to fix soon). Yes, I wanted to give the actual decorations a bit of love too. n x

 Viv said...

I remember turning to this section of the mag and thinking "cool.. fridges" (no pun intended I think). I had not idea smeg made a stripey fridge too. Glad it was showcased front and centre.

I noticed that you were named as the stylist and thought "well done nat!". Lately I have been taking more and more notice of who styles, writes and photographs articles. You have a real talent for styling!

Melissa said...

Great shoot of a tough subject! I love the use of yellow to really draw your eye around.

I live in the U.S., have been following your blog, and think this magazine looks unbelievable. Is it possible to find it in stores here? I've hunted but think the answer, sadly, is no. Wish there was a digital version as the snippets on the Real Living website look amazing and I want to see more!

deborah said...

Love the industrial feel that the pops of yellow props give. Well done.

simply grove said...

Looks amazing!!!

Cat said...

I love this spread and didn't even know it was yours. I think it's great that you managed to find such a wide variety of fridges and they're all so pretty. I was wishing for ours to break so that we could look at one of those gorgeous Smeg's too! Who knew fridges could be pretty?! :)

Natalie Walton said...

Thanks again everyone. Who'd have thought it was interesting to talk (or style!) fridges!!!

Shelley Trbuhovich said...

i actually remember looking at this - not realising you had styled it - thinking, 'they've really managed to make something so ugly look so damn good'! i loved the use of yellow, the variation in surfaces, the placement of the bits and bobs. i checked out that page for a long time. good one.

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