A bit of an understatement to say we were a little overdue for a photoshoot. I’m not going to lie and say that it was all part of the plan. A more likely scenario: sitting down at our weekly meeting and thinking, “Wow, I’m bored of our old photos… Let’s do a photoshoot!” No exaggeration, that’s how we make our decisions.
We’ve gotten into the habit of actually planning somewhat in advance lately. Rewind to mid-August when the photoshoot plans started to take shape. Thinking about all the planning that needed to be done (models, hair, makeup, photographer, wardrobe, clutches) we settled on a mid to late September photoshoot. “Perfect – the sun will be shining and the air will be crisp as we make our gradual descent into fall!” As Vancouverites, we tend to be overly optimistic and hopeful when it comes to the weather, and late September decided to prove this point without exception.
So it’s the week before the shoot, and I’m feverishly checking the weather. As usual, the forecast has been like Oprah’s waistline, yo-yoing from one extreme to the other. We’d envisioned a sunny naturescape setting for the perfect “summer day” photoshoot, and the thought of soggy dresses and waterlogged clutches in a muddy field did not rest easy. Despite my own reassuring thoughts and the fact that I was clinging to a sunny prediction from two weeks ago, the Weather Network was showing a POP of 90% and up to 50mm of rain – officially time to panic. We began combing the web for “top photoshoot locations in the rain in Vancouver” with little luck and desperately called any indoor/covered gardens we could think of. After a lot of the same answers (“sorry, you’ll need to book in advance”) we finally had a lead – the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden‘s neighbouring park! Beautifully enclosed in the heart of Chinatown, the park features whimsical bridges, pagodas and a plethora of flora and fauna. One problem down, another to go…
The day of the shoot delivered as promised - rain, rain and more rain with the gloomiest grey clouds we had seen in months. Rolling with the punches, we broke out the wellies, armed ourselves with garbage bags and jackets, and headed to our location. Unexpectedly we witnessed the miracle of all miracles, something was finally going our way! We arrived at the shoot and the rain began to dissolve. Nothing but puddles and soggy ground were left and the sun even broke for a few glorious minutes. Hurray!
The next couple of rainless hours flew by in a haze of amazing shots, leaving us excited for our next shoot. (Hopefully sooner rather than later!)
You can see some of our favourite shots in the fall/2011 photoshoot gallery.
Thanks to our talented models, photographer and makeup artist for making this all happen!
Photographer: Desy Cheng from Kai Film & Photography and RF Productions
Models: Joddi Alden and Allison Hamilton
Hair & Makeup: Lindsay MacLean
Wardrobe: Frocks
Location: Sun Yat Sen Park, Vancouver
