Planning Shoot Outs is so much fun.  Picking the location, creating the sets, finding the clothing to match the concepts and especially meeting each and every attendee is what makes it so fun.

I had always wanted to do a shoot out in my home state of South Carolina and what better place than Charleston.  Moss dripping from the trees, sprawling gardens and southern hospitality made this one of the best Shoot Outs we have hosted.

My partner in crime, Courtney DeLaura, is a master at google maps and found this amazing location, Middleton Place.  After choosing this location, the planning really began as the location gave us so much inspiration for everything to do with the shoot out.  We started planning the shoots and little by little, the shoot out evolved into what I would consider a mini workshop.

Our Shoot Outs in the past have been three hours and have included the models, location and shooting for your portfolio.  But we wanted this one to be a little bit different.  So we planned two completely different shoots, one in the morning and one in the evening, and added education in the middle.  It was a full day packed with education, shooting and lots of networking.

For the first shoot in the morning, we teamed up with a wonderful young designer named Molly.  Her clothing line, Ellen & Ollie, was produced by Belk Department Store after Molly won the Southern Designer Showcase in 2012.  Molly’s clothing is young, fresh and perfect for the Southern Senior.  Molly allowed us to use her new samples for Spring 2014 and photograph these designs for a Look Book for the Ellen & Ollie Line.  (we will be sure to showcase this as soon as it is ready!)  The attendees of the Shoot Out were so excited to be able to take photos for this Look Book and to be published in this Look Book for a designer.

Our wonderful models for the morning shoot were perfect.  They fit the look of Ellen & Ollie and the dresses looked great on them.  We were able to use models that were sophmores, juniors and seniors which allowed the attendees to work with several different ages.  I actually started out my senior business with sophmores because that was the age I had a connection to.  And when those sophmores became seniors, they all came to me.  So starting a little bit before they are seniors really will help your business.

Our afternoon shoot had a completely different concept.  We wanted to make sure that the attendees got a variety of different shots for their portfolio.  The afternoon shoot concept was inspired by the location.  After viewing the gardens, we decided that an Alice in Wonderland theme would fit perfectly.  Deciding on a specific concept allowed us to find clothing that worked with this theme.

Shopping for each character, Alice, The Mad Hatter, The Rabbit and The Queen, was so much fun.  Courtney and I shopped ‘together’ via skype and searched for the perfect outfit for the models.  We wanted to make sure they represented the characters but in a very modern way, using clothing that could very much be worn by a senior.  We found things at Forever 21, Free People and a few items in my own closet.  Jewelry came from Courtney and my collections and completed each outfit.

At every Shoot Out or Tour, I am always surprised by how perfect the outfits we choose match the personalities of the model wearing that outfit perfectly.  And this was again true at the Charleston Shoot Out.  Each girl embodied the characters they were paired with perfectly.  Sweet and innocent Alice, the rocker chic as the Mad Hatter, the elegant and mysterious Queen and the curious and mischievous rabbit.  The gardens proved to be the perfect location with tons of different places to shoot.

Our wonderful hair and makeup artist, Kelsie Boles, took our concept and created each models’ hair and makeup perfectly.  She did a fresh look for the morning shoot and then took it a step further for the afternoon shoot for the Alice in Wonderland theme.  Kelsie worked hard all day and everyone was so happy with the results.

We will be showcasing the attendees photos this week from both of the shoots at this Shoot Out.  Be sure to check the blog each day to be inspired by all the photos taken at the Seniorologie Shoot Out in Charleston.

Seniorologie Shoot Out – {Charleston, SC}

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heck, yes i do!

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