When I mention that our cover girl is Katheryn Winnick—most didn't have a clue who I'm talking about. All I can say is, 'You will!' She's the star of Vikings, a sort of obscure television series on the History channel. Her publicist is Leslie Sloane with BWR which means a lot because Leslie is one of the best and works with some of the best talent in the world. So when Leslie said to shoot this girl for your cover, I listen.
Superstar hair stylist Robert Steinken with Cloutier Remix coiffing out Katheryn Winnick
We brought out photographer Marc Baptiste from New York to shoot her. He always uses his trusted digitech Drew Schwartz (who also happens to be a good shooter). Together they make a great team.
Marc Baptiste meeting Katheryn Winnick in makeup area at Aesthesia Studios, Culver City
Some of the usual antics surfaced with the publicists. I wanted a start time of 9:00 and the publicists asked to move it to 10:30. Since our end time was 4:00 with a hard-out at 5:00, I was concerned we'd be hard-pressed to get the cover and interior pages done, so I asked if we could work through lunch, but, in favor of diplomacy, that I'd leave it up to them. They came back with, 'Yes, we prefer to work through lunch." Okay, fine.
The day before the shoot, which was Sunday, I get an email from one of Leslie's associates that the talent required gluten-free food. WHAT? Didn't you guys say you wanted to work through lunch? Oh, but I'm supposed to know that when you say that we're not having lunch, what that really means is: I'm still supposed to setup lunch. Grrrr!!!
The shoot day went great. We had lots of gluten-free snacks from Trader Joe's and lunch from il Forno Caldo, a great restaurant in Beverly Hills. Everyone seemed happy—especially Katheryn, who, of course, didn't eat a bite.
Our glam team was one-of-my-fave stylists Lisa Cera, Robert Steinken with Cloutier Remix on hair; Melissa Rogers with Art Mix Beauty; and Elisa Wishan on nails. The team took a little longer than usual to get through hair and makeup and our first shot wasn't taken until 1:30.
We used Robert, the guard of the jewelry in our shot with Katheryn Winnik. That's Marc Baptiste on the right.
If there's one thing that drives me crazy, it's when fashion shooters don't shoot from a low angle. If you're going to shoot from standing position, you may as well just shoot portraits and not fashion. The main reason is the shoes. All shoes look better when you can see the space between the heel and the ground. At least try from a lower position as an option. Composition ends up being stronger 75% of the time. Um, that means most of the time if you're scoring at home.
We were shooting in front of the elevator door as our prop when all of a sudden it opened and this man popped out. Couldn't figure out if he was her boyfriend or manager. He said manager, but we suspected more.
One of the coolest things about Aesthesia Studios is this outdoor coved cyc that is on wheels. You can roll it around to optimize the natural light. Herb Ritts used to use an outdoor cyc all the time. Almost can't get a bad shot on one.
Shooting on Aesthesia Studios rolling outdoor cyc. On a beautiful day it doesn't get better than this.
I'm getting a little anxious. I won't say stressed...yet. I have an interview to complete with Winnick and start designing some of the editors' pages. Also need to edit the images from yesterday and need to start selecting models for a shoot on Friday with photographer Jeff Berlin. I'm excited to be working with stylist Holly Copeland again. Another beautiful day in Beverly Hills!