We had a wonderful time at our photo shoot this past Saturday! They're always so much fun, super exciting and even a wee bit glamorous, wink. What most people don't realize is how much work they are. Yes, I said work. They are utterly exhausting, but in a fantastic way!
There is much, much work to do behind the scenes long before the photo shoot is ever started and long after it ends. I thoroughly enjoy pulling together props from here and there, mostly from different rooms in our home. I will occasionally go on the "hunt" for a certain piece which might lead me to the local Salvation Army or even across the island to my daughter's place to borrow her lovely French basket...handy indeed! It's all about having a vision for what I want the final collection of images to not only look like, but also how I want them to "feel". I think about the message I want to convey and the feelings I want to stir in my Fabulous Mommies and Girls and what part of my vision will touch each of you.
I cannot tell you how honored I am to have had so many mommies send in photos of their darling girls in hopes of being chosen to be a part of our shoot. I have to admit, choosing the girls is my very, very, VERY least favorite part of what I do. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I think it's the only part of what I do that I don't like. It actually makes me sad not to be able to say "yes" to everyone who applies for our shoots, hurts my heart, truly. There is some good news though: this time I was able to compile a list of girls that are perfect for our next shoot. What happens is I tend to get a lot of girls about the same age or size and I can only use so many, depending on the theme of our shoot. I need to be able to showcase a range of ages and sizes. My point here is please keep sending in the photos of your girls when I shout out for a model call. I keep all the emails and photos on record for future reference and I call on as many girls as I can.
In the meantime, know that it really is a treat for that y'all share your sweet girls with me and FGC and I cannot thank you enough! I love seeing their different personalities, some are so bold and such a hoot, while others are just the sweetest little souls you've ever met. It's awesome to be able to photograph so many girls that embody all the different characteristics of being a Fabulous Girl: kind, brave, giggly, smart, cute, spirited, funny, full of gumption ...the list goes on! Did you even think about having to be brave enough to be photographed in front of a small audience of proud mommies, aunties & grammies? (that's a lot of "ies" to please!). For some it's super easy and ever so natural, but it's not necessarily that way for everyone, me included. For me it feels a wee bit awkward, but I can tell for others it comes effortlessly. I adore them all as they each bring such vibrancy to my line for which I'm so grateful. They tell the story of my line. They are the story of my line. They each Embrace Girlyhood ever so beautifully in their own way capturing the essence of being a Fabulous Girl.
Can you hear me applauding the girls and mommies? I also must applaud my fantastical photographer, Arastasia, and my oldest daughter, Lauren, who is my very talented stylist. I've taken a few good pics before and I've done my share of hair-do's with having five girls of my own, but I can do neither as well as either of them, that's for sure! While I pull this all together, they definitely pull it all off. I give each of them a few perimeters and then look forward to them running with it and making their magic. I stay busy the entire day dressing the girls and styling their looks, but I couldn't do my shoots without them. Applause, applause!
Finally I must say a special "thank you" to the sweet mommies who brought me such thoughtful gifts. What a nice surprise! I wish the camera had been on Bailey when she came up to me on my porch with the vase of flowers in her little hands asking if I was Rachel, she needed Rachel, so she said. Even her little voice was cute! Of course, then her Fabulous mommy followed up with a bottle of prosecco...good call on that one, relaxation after the shoot. Another Auntie brought me and my girls our favorite dinner from her restaurant, Yes,Thai Indeed!. Yummy, her Siam chicken is to die for! Both were completely not expected, but utterly appreciated and thoroughly enJOYed, thank you!!
Today I'm still disassembling from the shoot two days ago. I have lots of accessories, props and clothing to work back into our inventory until they're showcased on our new website, FabulousGirlClothing.com. Don't forget that we release at least one new item every Thursday eve at 8pm EST. All of our clothing is handmade in small batches, so be sure to grab the sizes you need asap because once they're sold out, they're gone forever!
There is always so much anticipation of an upcoming shoot and now I'm super excited to see all the images from Arastasia. I just know I'm going to be wowed all over again with her mad talent and all my fabulous Fabulous Girls. Are you ready for some cuteness overload? I know always am! Soon be we'll sharing our shoot with you on our Instagram and Facebook pages.
Our fun day was definitely Fabulous and a bit of a whirlwind, but as quick as Click,Click, Snap... it was a Wrap!