A Romantic Couple's Photoshoot on a Stunning Island 📸

February 07, 2024 in Lifestyle, People, Portraits

I met with Steffon and Melissa in October of 2023 at this intimate coffee bar on the western side of town. Melissa, who had initially reached out to me, wanted to take romantic, beautiful and editorial portraits with her beau, Steffon. So, in our early discussion, we went over a few concepts that would make them both happy. Melissa told me how long they had dated and that they had no images to speak for their relationship. She was focused on taking official photos to celebrate their love for one another.

During our meeting, I almost enforced that the photoshoot should be unique and different. I don't know what made me say it, but in explaining my creative process to the couple, I told them we needed to shoot somewhere different, not on the island (we all lived in New Providence) but on another island with a stunning backdrop. I almost jumped out of my seat when the thought hit me. I said, “Let's go to Exuma!"

The couple looked at each other, and while I thought the budget would not allow for such a production, they looked back at me and said, "Yes, that's an amazing idea!"

We worked together to figure out a date, styling and logistics for pulling this whole thing off. Luckily for Melissa, her cousin was one of the country's most talented stylists, so I didn't worry too much about that aspect. I had a few colleagues in Exuma who gave me insight on where to shoot and how to get there, and so, together with the couple, we made arrangements for a boat to take us to one of the sandbanks near Rolletown, Exuma.

This photo shoot had been postponed twice due to bad timing or bad weather, and by the time we finally got around the concrete time, it was 2024! January 16th was the new date, and everyone was sure this would be amazing due to all the previous setbacks. My assistant Tariq and I arranged to get there by plane, only a 30-minute ride, and we found an Airbnb only 3 minutes from the dock! The night before we shot, the team met up to go over the art direction for the shoot. Everyone chipped in and gave commentary to make the couple feel more confident going into the photoshoot.

Shoot day was nothing short of incredible. The weather was perfect, the water looked unreal, and the couple were perfectly styled. We found a sandbank when we left the marina and positioned the couple. I was shooting with natural light, so I had more time to focus on posing and positioning. The boat captain pulled us right up to the bank, and I even left him in some of my frames to show the context of where we were. Steffon and Melissa were amazing to photograph because they didn't pretend much to like each other. You could see that they genuinely enjoyed each other's space, and as a photographer, that helps when capturing portraits of two people together.

The couple had a second look, and we brainstormed on where to photograph them. The team agreed that we didn't want to shoot them out in the water again, so I suggested shooting them in a town near all the hustle and bustle of Georgetown's main settlement. I love locations like these because there is a lot of energy surrounding you. People, cars, dogs and birds are all moving around you. Georgetown gave me so many different spaces to capture Stef and Mel, and I loved that they stood out in stylish clothing against the town's backdrop. This shoot, if any indication of how the year will pan out, excited me, and I loved working with the couple to produce these images.

Please enjoy.

Photography & Art Direction: Scharad Lightbourne

Styling: Shan Oliver ( The Style Group)

MUA: Valincia Rolle

Hair: Tara Miller (Metamorphosis)

Stef’s Hair: Tilly Balinese

Grip: Tariq Cartwright

An aerial view of us on the sand bank with the couple.

Portraits of Realtor. Private Banker & Watch Collector, Bobby Chen

October 08, 2021 in Fashion, Lifestyle, People

“Working with Scharad was a cakewalk. He’s a consummate professional full of creative energy along with the perfect timing to capture the essence in every shot. He went above and beyond to ensure that the environment and creative process brought out the best expressions in me and my wife. An absolute pleasure to work with and the finished products are indeed timeless to say the least.”

— Bobby Chen

I met Bobby Chen a few years ago when I did some headshots for the real estate firm he worked for, and he seemed to be a pretty cool dude. As I followed his career path, I noticed he had an interesting portfolio that included cryptocurrency, private banking, and more so, a love for collection luxury and vintage timepieces.

You see, photographers are always looking to add more exciting people to their portfolios. Bobby seemed intelligent, accomplished and we both shared similar interests.

I reached out to Bobby via social media and asked him if he would shoot with me. After explaining my concept some more, he eagerly agreed. I explained to him I would photograph him in a way that timelined what a possible day would look like for him. I made up this story that he’d wake up, take a morning swim, have coffee in bed with his wife before heading to work and I also threw a pseudo modelling career for fun and date night with his beautiful wife, Patrice. We all felt this was going to be a great shoot to execute.

The shot list was simple enough, but I called on friend/stylist Shan Oliver to put all the looks together. Bobby had multiple options for wardrobe from his own closet, so we simply pulled from that to make it work. Working with a stylist is very important; I showed Shan a mood board of looks that I liked, and she was able to put pieces together based on my vision and used her expertise to make each outfit pop. She knows my style is clean and straightforward, so she made the styling the same.

The shoot went relatively smooth and we shot the entire day. Bobby got through it like a champ and with his wife by his side, he was able to confidently knock and model his looks out the park. The team had a great time working with this multifaceted Bahamian.

Bobby Chen by Scharad Lightbourne

Styling: Shan Oliver

Grip: Tameka Petit Homme

Grip: Sammy Rutherford

MUAs: Torkel Dawkins- Patrice’s morning look

MUA: Raven Forbes - Patrice’s evening look

Bahamas Masqueraders Official Costume Photoshoot

February 10, 2020 in Lifestyle, Creative, People

So…I know what you all much be thinking…Scharad shoots a Carnival Band?

Mr. "anti-soca" himself?

Well if you must know, contrary to popular belief, regardless of the genre or scenario, I will always be 100% an advocate for creativity. My impartial favor towards Soca music has nothing to do with the fact that the Masqueraders Carnival Band approached me to shoot their official images and sitting in our meeting, my ears perked at the sound of the phrase, “we want to give you 100% creative control.”

I mean, would you turn away an opportunity like this?

I wanted to see what I was capable of capturing. I knew the costumes would be detailed, intricate and awe-inspiring, all things that I find inspiration from as a photographer so I connected with the concept on a completely artistic level. Can you imagine, showing up at our location, the band’s warehouse to see so many moving parts? Personnel running around trying to get each detail ready? Designers putting the finishing touch on their section costumes. Models arriving to be escorted into makeup and hair? Staff on-call preparing food, snacks, and drink for everyone present. Tractors, trailers and heavy equipment preparing for the Band’s lunch? It was truly a circus and my team and I set up in the middle of all this creative chaos!

The 16-hour shoot proved to be a marathon of lights, cameras and tons of action. The band featured 4 sections, Oriental, Mayan, Grecian and African themes. For someone not immersed in the cultured, I was amazed at the amount of work and detail that went into the designing, building and finishing these jaw-dropping pieces.

One by one, we shot, re-lit, composed and constructed section after section, models both male and female were posed and pushed to give energetic, artistic and fierce stances. We added fog and colored gels for our close up shots just to make them more dynamic. To keep the models energized and hyped, there was a 6 speaker system setup worthy of any fete or concert blasting some of the hottest soca tracks…the entire time! What a time!

The energy was incredible and everyone fed from it. Section leaders, designers, staff, models, and my team all cocooned in what was occurring. The shoot was simply amazing. Once the call “Its a wrap” was made, we all cheered in excitement. We knew we achieved what we set out to, with all the hard work from every single person on board. The band will launch its website soon but in the meantime, please enjoy the images below and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram.

Fitness Shoot Branding (BTS)

January 14, 2020 in Lifestyle, People

We postponed this shoot nearly 5 times before we finally got everything lined up to shoot fitness trainer and lifestyle brand Latoya Moxey. Latoya called me months before to ask me if I'd be interested in helping her create her new fitness brand and before she could finish asking I eagerly agreed. I love shooting lifestyle and fitness was always something I was interested in so it was a win-win for me looking at the bigger picture.

Before shooting we met up to go over outfits at her home and Latoya must have brought out a million and one pieces of fitness apparel, in every color and shade with athletic shoes to match. I found myself surrounded by nothing short of a sporting brand factory store and we quickly narrowed down several options that would give our shoot a palette of diverse styles. Old Fort Bay was our locale of choice as it provided many different scenic areas for backdrops. I’d shot here a handful of times so I was no stranger to the property and I felt, at first, Id be challenged trying to find unique spaces for Latoya but the team and I worked through to find some incredible spot to compliment our subjects look and styling.

We shot throughout the day, capturing lifestyle poses as well as some using motion and exercise. I shot all-natural light with my Nikon D750 and a Sigma 85mm f1.4 lens and the lighting all around the property was buttery smooth and hit all the right angles creating light flares and hazes that one just couldn't create in post. (I mean you could but it looks so much better when It's natural)

Overall, I enjoyed working on these images, more so because I chose a very minimal setup, I used a diffuser to block the subject from too much light and a reflector to help fill in darker areas of her face and body. In most cases, I found that shooting wide open (f1.4 - f2.8) would prove to be too intense but shooting at smaller apertures (f3.5 - f4) helped me maintain sharpness on the subject and keep some blur on the backgrounds. Please enjoy the images below and be sure to watch the BTS video!!

Styling + Photography: Scharad Lightbourne

Hair: Skyline Designs

MUA: LooksbyChar

Grips: Catina Ferguson + Rayandra Nairn

I shot at the dopest wedding location ever! Leo & Keva Creary

January 02, 2020 in Lifestyle, People, Creative

Last year Leo, Keva and I had a meeting to discuss their wedding day. It was full circle for me in many aspects because I’d mentored Leo for many years and he’d come to me for a long time whenever he wanted photos of himself. This time was different though. It was his wedding day and I was so honored that he and his fiance asked me to be their wedding photographer. The first question I had for the couple was; “Is it going to be in Bimini?” because I knew of a dope location, a shipwreck on the island that I KNEW I had to use as a backdrop.

So…I’ll skip all the bells and whistles and get right to it. It was particularly exciting for me because I’d done my fair share of weddings, but this backdrop was going to be the delta of wedding locations for me. I told the couple we’d have to shoot at sunset because their wedding was earlier in the day.

I shot in and around the boat and used a strobe to assist me with the lighting. The location and natural light were incredible. The couple even agreed to go in the remains of the ship, part of which was partially submerged in the sand. The images were magical and I was so happy to capture this couple in a way that made me happy as well.

After being featured in both Essence and Adriana Magazines, I now have the chance to post these. Be sure to check out the behind the scenes video below.

Signature Styles Holiday ’19: “Lady in Red” Collection

December 04, 2019 in Fashion, Lifestyle, Beauty

Words by Sherron Young

The product of two authorities stemming from two completely different industries, fuse for an electrifying reveal.

Scharad Lightbourne, renowned Bahamian Photographer has established quite the name for himself, introducing photography in lighting that forces all eyes.

As a pioneer in his industry, Scharad re-invests heavily into budding photographers, mentoring them all while capturing stunning polaroids of some of the largest names in the Region.

While immersed in his work which dictates a rather overwhelming schedule, it leaves very little time for projects of the heart. He says being the creative that he is first, sometimes leaves him famished for a creative project, one that he can call his own and that is born from a pure passion in photography.

This collection was precisely that, a birthing of a veteran photographer's soul; bringing it to life, however, would call for a clothing line that was expansive in its collection yet exquisite, bearing fierce variables and a team whose fashion sense purely distracts.

Mitzi Turnquest, fashion connoisseur and founder of Bahamian Fashion Empire; Signature Styles, partnered with the noble photographer for the capturing of her brand's 4 tiered holiday collection which features bold reds among other holiday looks. As her brand moves to onboard an international line, Turnquest thought it the perfect timing for a peak in the brands look and feel in the changing of the company's entire branding scheme, logo, inter-store cosmetics among other upgrades. This photo-shoot would serve as just another feature to the brands full overhaul and seal her efforts placing Signature Styles in due position as the leading ladies’ fashion brand.

She along with her team collaborated with Lightbourne on a set that looked like we were in Miami South Beach, bearing floor to ceiling glass walls and a memorizing view of the Nassau Harbour. The ambiance alone was a sight to behold, amplified by model and social influencer; Denise Francis.

This campaign showcases the profound power of collaboration but more importantly raises the bar in editorial fashion locally. The collection definitely opens your senses for a better product in 2020 as they have certainly outdone themselves this year. All looks are available within the Marathon Rd location commencing 10:00 am December 3rd with a sip and shop experience. All are welcomed.

Photographer: Scharad Lightbourne

MUA: Y. Aysia

Model/Hair Stylist: Denise Francis

Styling: Mitzie Turnquest

Styling Assistant: Cordero Toussaint

Grip: Tariq Cartwright / Stephen McKinney