Well, Solene arrived early in the afternoon yesterday, then texted me as nobody would answer the door at her hotel! That text was very fortuitous as my wife & I happened to be nearby in the car. We met for a coffee and, on the spur of the moment decided to start shooting right away.
The plan was to shoot product shots of the beautiful fifties nylon stockings – these are new styles for vintage lingerie company Sleek ‘n Chic, and the only similarity with the modern ‘seamed stockings’ seems to be the price! The quality of these items is superb, the feel of the flat-knit quite unlike the modern copies, and Solene immediately fell in love with them!
That was the plan, and indeed we did shoot the stockings, but once Solene was ready it seemed a pity not to shoot some editorial images too, so we ended up shooting some cute images with a fifties bar too.
Next day was an early start as we commenced shooting at the local American diner Bobby Joes at 8am before moving on to a beautiful fifties restored house…it really felt like we were stepping back in time! A swift lunch break and then back to the studio for some editorial tattoo pictures, a pin-up set or two, and to shoot the entire retro range of sunglasses for Sleek ‘n Chic.
Jo & Solene at Bobby Jo's
Our gracious host Jo, whom I dragged in front of the camera…the foreground being hogged by one of her delicious bubblegum milkshakes. There is no doubt that Tony & Jo have recreated a wonderful fifties diner ambience here. If you are headed to Southend, you must eat here – you won’t regret it!
During a very long day of shooting Solene was a real trooper – even when one of her eyelashes started attacking her at Bobby Joes she still delivered with great poses and expressions.
Now comes the task of shortlisting the best from so many wonderful shots. Watch this space!
