43 Minutes with Julie Danforth

An homage to Cecil Beaton and Charles James for designer Julie Danforth

I photograph artists.

More specifically, I specialize in photographing artists in environmental settings. So when fashion designer Julie Danforth asked me to photograph her wedding, there wasn’t a moments hesitation when I accepted the invitation. 

More posts on Julie’s wedding and her pieces at Metropolitan Fashion week will be coming to this blog soon, but first, I want to share with you this special stylized shoot that captures the essence and tone she used as a palette for her wedding that was held on a beautiful October fall evening.

Julie‘s work is motivated by the sophisticated styles of  many social icons, and for her wedding she designed and made the gowns with inspiration from the famous 1948 Vogue feature of Charles James gowns by Cecil Beaton (sketch below). The original image from Vogue (can be viewed at the bottom of this post) is piece of art that has been influential in many fashion photographer’s work, including Tim Walker‘s 2006 Juicy Couture ad campaign in 2006 and Steven Meisel‘s replica featuring punk-Asian models in Oscar de la Renta for the 2010 Vogue Cover.

To capture Julie’s gowns and their elegant beauty properly, we set up a post-wedding formal bridal fashion shoot at the classical Stimson Green Mansion in Seattle. The following images are my favorite creations form the session.

Original Pieces set to Inspire this shoot

1948 Vogue feature of Charles James gowns by Cecil Beaton

2006 Juicy Couture ad: Tim Walker

2010 Vogue Cover: Oscar de la Renta by Steven Meisel

Photography details for this shoot are below.
To see all the equipment I use on set, visit my Gear List.

Lens(es):
on 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens –  Aperture: f/14 – Shutter: 1/200 – ISO: 200

Main key light: Paul C. Buff White Lightning X3200 with Paul C. Buff 86″ Silver PLM™ parabolic umbrella
Fill light: Westcott 2334 28-Inch Recessed Medium Apollo with strobe
Background: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight Flash mounted with a Nasty Clamp attached to 3 Legged Thing Carbon Fiber Tripod

Background 2nd: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras with Westcott Micro Apollo 2200 mounted on a small stand

BlackRapid Floral Woman’s Strap (RS-W1F) (Black)
Tripod:
3 Legged Thing “EDDIE” Carbon Fiber Tripod System with AirHed 2 BallheadAccessories:
Nice Industries Glow Blower
Nasty Clamp