Styling for Bittersweet Creative

In December, Bittersweet Creative contacted me asking if I'd be willing to style an upcoming staff photoshoot for them in January, to be featured in the winter issue of Bittersweet Zine. The Zine is a quarterly publication that uses art to tell stories of current social issues affecting the Washington, DC community. They ask different local artists to contribute to each magazine, and as it says on their website:

We feel like those stories of hope, joy, and selfless service will empower our readership with a high-level working knowledge of various issues while also inspiring people to engage in issues in a meaningful way, using their unique skills, talents, and experience.

I was immediately on board -- I've been hoping for ways to use my love of art/styling for the "greater good" and Bittersweet seemed like the perfect way to do just that.

For the photographs, the girls at Bittersweet wanted to be sure to communicate the closeness of their staff "family," as well as their approachability and their individual personalities. So I started thinking through an overall look and theme for the shoot, knowing I'd be working with a setting that included vintage furniture and exposed brick.

I loved the idea of playing with the meaning behind the organization's name: Bittersweet. They define it on their website as "creating beauty and balance from unlikely/opposing elements." My thought was to layer neutral pieces of clothing with multiple & opposing textures and then add small pops of color/jewelry in order to subtly evoke that idea. I came up with a Pinterest board of basic outfit ideas to send to the staff, along with some guidelines for them as they shopped their closets for clothes to bring as options.

Once I got to the shoot we needed to work a little faster than anticipated, so I didn't end up using a number of my plans, but that was fine! It became more important to make sure they were all in coordinated outfits that expressed their personalities and worked with the setting in order to get a good group shot within the time constraints we had. 

All the clothes!

Behind the scenes. (Photo by Steve Jeter)

In the end, we got a great group picture (as well as some individual portraits) that turned out beautifully, thanks to the photography of Steve Jeter. Personally, I had So. Much. Fun. The experience of picking out clothes, thinking on my feet, trying different pieces, matching up multiple outfits and pairing them with shoes and accessories for four different people was an amazing artistic challenge. It only confirmed that styling is something I love and want to do in some form as I move forward with my life. I was thrilled to have this opportunity and can't wait for more just like it!

I also can't wait to share the finished product with you once the winter issue of Bittersweet is printed and published!