Just the other day I stepped out with Shanna and our lovely model Jennifer to gather wildflowers for a late summer inspiration shoot for Style Me Pretty Living. You might remember the sneak peek I shared on Pinterest about it? Well, I’ve been waiting patiently ever since to see the shoot published. Yesterday it hit the screen so I can finally share all the loveliness with you! I have decided to divide the shoot into two parts, so here’s Part One: A countryside frolic and gathering of fresh, beautiful blooms laden with rich late summer hues.
Basically, I’ll take any excuse to get outdoors and pick fresh flowers, so when I was brainstorming ideas for a summer shoot to offer SMP Living, I seized the opportunity to do just that! And let me tell you, I would do it every single day given half the chance. When I was little, I loved nothing more than going into our garden {in South Africa} and gathering herbs and flowers to take back into the kitchen for my mum. I would spend hours in the garden frolicking about. I suppose it was these carefree childhood memories that have lived on into my adult life and work as a stylist, and became the inspiration behind this late summer wildflower shoot.
The summertime in The Netherlands is so beautiful, with wild flowers springing up alongside roads, cycle paths and fields. I took full advantage of this a few weeks ago when I hopped on my bike to gather some wild blooms for my home.
For this shoot, I teamed up with the talented photographer Katie {who also captured our wedding back in May} to capture some of the wild floral beauty that surrounds us in this part of the world. I’m sure you’ll agree that she did a beautiful job, as she always does.
On location we found all sorts of props to use in the shoot, including a collection of tiny terra-cotta post stacked on a garden shelf {you know how I feel about terra-cotta right now, so I couldn’t resist playing with a few tiny stems in these darling little vessels}. We also found a woven basket, and a bunch of garden labels made from stone lying around, which looked really great. I love it when things just come together. So much of the work as a stylist is based on chance and luck because sometimes the props and ideas you have in mind just aren’t available and you have to go ahead with your concept with a bit of improvising.
Once we had gathered our fill of wildflowers and had the shots I wanted, we headed to my studio to continue part two of the shoot – a wildflower arrangement DIY, which I will share with you next week!
Big thanks to our lovely model and assistant, Jennifer, who did a wonderful job and frolicked as if she has done it all her life!
Have a wonderful weekend, and see you back here on Monday for Part Two!
I must admit that the shoot was a little risky because I couldn’t do much preparation beforehand besides deciding on the overall look and feel, gathering a few props (though I wanted a less-is-more approach and let nature do the talking for this shoot) and generating ideas for poses. I was relieved when I woke up on the day of the shoot to fine weather, but was even more excited to discover the huge variation of wildflowers at the shoot location, De Sfeerstal. We ended up gathering a huge bunch of blooms in the most beautiful shades of yellow, peach and pink, so were able to go ahead with part two of the shoot back at my studio.
