Behind The Scenes on the Breeze Magazine Photo Shoot

BOHO-CHIC WITH JODI | Darrin Henry

I know from feedback that behind the scenes insights into our Breeze magazine photo shoots are popular with visitors. I’m the same way when it comes to other photographers’ work.

Breeze magazine issue 4, the 2018 edition, was shot on a Sunday afternoon here on St Helena Island with our beautiful local model, Jodi Wade, at the fortification on top of the hill behind Munden’s battery, looking down onto Rupert’s Bay. Location shoots always seem to involve a bit of a hike, in this case a 25min, 150m ascent from Jamestown. Already, the unglamorous side of photo shoots that go unseen.

Check out our Breeze Magazine behind the scenes video

Don’t Forget The Chocolate

Pre-planning is essential in terms of taking the right equipment – you don’t want to carry unnecessary gear but equally leaving a vital piece of kit behind is not good.

There’s the obvious: camera, batteries, flash units etc.

But the right choice of accessories really is key; masking tape, cable-ties, cutters/pliers, cardboard and string. Lens cleaner is important, but then that’s always in the bag. Heavy duty clamps and bull clips are priceless for quick fixes; mounting a flash unit or even holding together an ill-fitting outfit or a wardrobe malfunction.

It was a relief we didn’t forget anything. Even Snickers bars to restore energy after the uphill climb were packed and eagerly consumed as planned.

 

It’s Now Or Never, Time To Shoot

Boho-Chic was the theme for this Breeze magazine photo shoot. We had met twice with Jodi in the weeks prior to discuss styling ideas and to shoot a quick test sequence to see how we might deal with overcast St Helena weather.

So like good Boy Scouts, we were prepared; the ground-work had been done.

Poor weather though forced us to postpone the actual shoot on three different days. We really wanted that warm, afternoon light to bring out the theme, but it wasn’t to be. Eventually we were running out of weekends so had to go for it, despite the drab sky.

The solution – strobes. Using high powered strobes, we basically generated our own sunlight. The pressure was on, but in a nerdy kind of way I secretly enjoyed the lighting challenge this shoot threw up.

Jodi was her usual stunning self; chiselled cheekbones, dimples and a megawatt smile, with a lot of humour thrown in. It’s a winning mix, for sure.

 

Shooting the Breeze Magazine Cover Girl

For the first look we had Jodi trying to look at ease and comfortable balancing on a rotten tree trunk that cracked and crumbled every time she moved. The pictures really do lie in this instance; definitely not as relaxed as the images suggest!

Although I’m bemoaning the lack of sunshine, we did actually get a few bursts of sunlight during the shoot which were actually more of a hindrance. It meant having to quickly adjust camera and strobe settings to compensate for the changes. I know, no pleasing, eh!

Everlasting flowers from Alarm Forest fashioned into a headband by Sharon, added a yellow pop of colour to the denim cut-off look. We shot this set on top of an old rusting cannon that lay nearby. An awesome prop.

A short, ruffled dress was our third look which we shot to incorporate the desolate feel of the old house. Avoiding dust stains was a challenge, everywhere in and around the ruin was coated in thick dust. We also had to shoot carefully around some rather ‘colourful’ poems in the form of graffiti that fell under the NSFW category.

With daylight across St Helena rapidly fading we shot our final look on the old concrete gun plinths. Focusing the camera was becoming a problem in the darkening afternoon, but we got there in the end.

Typically, once we had packed up everything and starting the walk back down, the late afternoon sun broke through the thick blanket of cloud, throwing halos of light everywhere. What can you do.

To see the final pictures from the shoot just sign-up to the blog, all followers get a free download. The first three Breeze magazines can be downloaded freely by everyone, click here.