On April 13, 2024 a group of 25 photographers came together for a creative photography event hosted at Topsail House in St. John's NL. The talented duo of Emily Williams (@emilywilliamsphoto) and Sandra Frampton (@sandraframptonphotography) brought together 7 amazing models with 7 different looks and 6 different rooms/setups (plus amazing food and snacks!) for one amazing event.
We had custom dresses and outfits from Studio7 Designs (@_studio7designs), Ethereal Boutique (@shop.etherealboutique), Rodney Philpott Designs (@rodneyphilpottdesigns) and Sooley Designs (@sooleydesigns).
We had amazing hair and makeup by Makeup By Meg (@makeupmegdid), Allison Best (@allisonbest) and Fallon Peddle (@anywhere.bridalhair).
And we had seven amazing models who rocked their looks and setups for multiple hours - see below for all the amazing models, looks and locations this day provided!
You may have seen Emma over in my Favourite Trios post or more recently from the previous Creative Community shoot at Middle Cove Beach. Emma and I worked together a number of years ago for one of her first ever photoshoots. Emma has since gone on to be a part of numerous modelling and advertising campaigns with local and national brands.
For this shoot, Emma was wearing a gorgeous gown from Rodney Philpott Designs. She was situated in the stairwell between the 2nd and 3rd floor of Topsail House that had some great design elements and some nice natural light from a 3rd storey window. For these images I used a mix of natural light and off-camera flash and predominantly my 85mm lens.
Alicia and I have shot together numerous times and she's always a pleasure to work with and photograph. She's been amazing in the two Creative Community shoots recently and we've done 3 or 4 shoots on our own. She even has her own dedicated model spotlight page with some of my favourite images from our previous shoots together.
The theme for this room was "Vintage Tea Party". For this room, Alicia and Milka were both located in a large, vintage-styled front room with beautiful windows and lighting. Alicia's dress and look really fit the decor so well. The various accessories, like the tea cup and vintage telephone really play up the aesthetic.
So pleased with how these turned out!
Mary is another staple in the local modeling scene but until now I hadn't had the pleasure of working with her. Mary's room was themed the "Party's Over" with a darkened bedroom, colourful balloons, dynamic lighting and a gorgeous dress from Rodney Philpott Designs. Mary was super great to work with and (obviously) stunning - hopefully not the last time we get the chance to work together.
Sarah is also a very sought after model in the area. We first shot together at the last group shoot - the Creative Community shoot at Middle Cove Beach - and I was very happy to have her in front of my camera again. Sarah is very professional and always has a look or pose ready - very helpful when you're not the best at giving direction.
Sarah's room was themed "Modern Maiden". She was located in a large dining room with big windows, vintage looking paintings on the wall and a fireplace at the other end. Sarah was dressed in a black dress, with gloves, pearls and a head scarf and her hair and makeup really gave a 50's glam vibe.
Radika (and her sisters) have graced my camera numerous times before and they've always been so great to work with - the whole family is full of stars (pharmacists, doctors, models - the list goes on).
Radhika's theme was "Spring Fling" and the bright, vibrant colours really worked amazing with the large living room that Radhika was in. Aside from the great styling, hair and makeup I really loved the leather couch and the huge, bright windows allowing tons of natural light.
More new faces! Milka was located in the same room as Alicia (the "Vintage Tea Party") and she had this very lovely, vintage dress along with a great handbag and pearls. The styling was really on point and both models really looked the part in this room and fit the vibe so well.
Gavin had one of the most challenging locations (for me) as it was very tight quarters (couldn't use my favourite 85mm lens) and had some mixed lighting and very minimal natural light. His location was called "Vibrancy" and had a coloured LED strip light bouncing off of translucent, reflective paper/wrap on the walls. It was definitely a cool look and some other photographers had some amazing results so I'm happy to get a good image but definitely a little out of my comfort zone (good to push yourself and try new things!)
In Conlusion
All in all it was an amazing event, with stunning models, talented photographers and a beautiful location. I'm so thankful to have been invited and able to attend and can't wait to do more in the future. As mentioned, there were 20+ photographers there for this event and it would be wrong to not showcase some of their work, so if you're interested please check out some of their images on their instagram feeds. Cheers!