Ever wonder why the spreads in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine are so pretty? Even the image for corner articles look gorgeous! The lighting, the choice of items, the models, the background color, the layout, the item placement. All the elements come together to tell a story with high aesthetic style.
The answer lies on this individual : the Stylist.
I drool over fashion spread and decoration spread on Martha Stewart Weddings every season. Hence I am very inspired to read Holly’s (from decor8blog.com) interview with Shana Faust, freelance stylist and ex-Martha Stewart Weddings deputy style editor. I love her works and am so inspired to know how she started and how she worked each photoshoot.
Since I decided to take a plunge into this industry, her story become more relevant to my passion. Being an awesome stylist like her is my long time goal. Every wedding that I style, will be aiming at magazine’s photoshoot quality. Not just any magazine, but Martha-Stewart-Weddings-kind-of-magazine. Toast to that!
Here is the excerpt of her interview at Decor8 :
Holly: And can you please tell us about the brainstorming and collaborating bit… More, more, more!
Shana: Styling is so much more than arranging everything you see in a aesthetically pleasing way. It’s more like communicating a story using things like color, lighting, texture, people, places and objects. I like to think of it like a movie, when you break it down into frames, each shot communicates something to the viewer, and an atmosphere and mood is created over the course. It requires a lot of imagination and hard work. The process for me as the stylist almost always starts with research — seeing what else has been done and thinking about new ways to present material. After that I’d start making some inspiration boards to help give the shoot some early direction. These boards often hold pantone chips, fabric swatches, swipe, and sketches. Next comes creating a “story board”. Loose sketches of what I imagine each shot to look like… what it contains, its palate, etc. etc.
Check out the full interview in Holly’s popular design blog. Don’t forget to check out Shana’s website too! You might need some inspiration for your wedding!
