John Casablancas International BYOB
Every couple of months John Casablancas International had a build your own book (BYOB) session where students from their make-up, hair, and fashion departments get together to put together four looks. They are pushed to achieve four looks (outfits) within a 7 hour time frame. The five best photos from each look are then picked and submitted to the school and String magazine for review. The set they like the most is then published in their monthly Vancouver fashion String magazine. It might seem easy but the make-up, hair, and clothing changes usually take anywhere from 1-1.5 hrs to complete leaving little time for photographing the subject.
The school invites local professional photographers in Vancouver to these sessions where they are placed with one of the groups for the day. We’re allowed to either photograph on location or inside their studio. For this shoot I brought with me a friend who I often photograph weddings with, Tom Wagner. Having shot many weddings with him and Three Sixty in the past made this session go smoothly as we’re use to thinking on the spot and using our natural environment to our advantage. Thanks to the Water Street Cafe for letting us use a table for 5 mins and Ray for letting us use his lights inside the studio.
So what happens when you combine the following:
- Vancouver portrait photographer (Michael Lee)
- Make-up artist (Parm Pandher)
- Hair stylist (Siobhan O’Brien)
- Fashion stylist (Sami Ward)
- Talented model (Jenna Cunningham)
You end up with (I would hope) a great set of photos that you’re proud of and that you can feel confident about showing to others. Check out the below 30 second clips of two looks we shot. Below that are some of the favorites from the day out of the four looks/outfits.
