Elbeth Gillis shoots with Nina Zimolong
Each year, after Elbeth has designed her new collection and created her sample gowns, the new collection has to be photographed. After all, a photograph says more than a 1,000 words because it conveys the essence of the gown.
Shooting a new collection
Having the right team for your shoots is essential. Designers will look, sometimes for years, for a photographer and a team with whom they can work ongoing. The team need to be able to understand the essence of a collection and then translate that visually for the world to enjoy and understand.
Over the years, Elbeth has built up a partnership with oh-so-talented, über professional, photographer Jacques Weyers. Stylist, Robynne Kahn, is an invaluable part of this team, too.
Reshooting best-seller gowns
But it’s also fun to arrange a less intensive reshoot of a couple of our best sellers. Reshoots help us re-imagine our best sellers in a new way – it’s almost like seeing our gowns with new eyes. And with reshoots, we’re more open to young, upcoming photographers and their way of interpreting a gown’s essence.
For this reshoot, we were thrilled to work with Nina Zimolong, a young photographer who already has a substantial portfolio. A hard worker, Nina had her head on her shoulders during this reshoot, her concentration single-minded the entire day.
We shot in several locations around Cape Town, all within walking distance of our studio.
Each gown was modelled beautifully by Charie Botha (who is one of the warmest people you’ll ever meet).
Robynne joined us for this shoot as well. In addition to her incredible talent, she also has a sense of humour that’ll keep you chuckling for minutes.
What a pleasure to see these best sellers come alive in their new setting. And a big thank you to the team.
To stay in touch, find us on our official Instagram or Facebook pages. Whenever we do a shoot, we post behind-the-scene images so you can see what it’s like.
Make-up: Janel Blom
Model: Charie Botha
Styling: Robynne Kahn
Photography: Nina Zimolong