David Rolle, creative director of House of Raphelita, wrote me one day asking if I'd be interested in shooting his new collection, to which I adamantly told him, "Yes!" David and I worked together for some time now, and I actually pushed him to finish his new collection. We met sometime back in 2020, but that year doesn't count, so David told me he would be ready in the first quarter of 2021 with his new collection.

"You think I should get the 66 Steps for the shoot?"

That's what David texted me one day about a possible location, and I replied,

"Why are you even asking me? That location would be epic!"

The 66 Steps or Queens Staircase, as its historically titled, is actually 65 steps that are carved out of solid limestone in the downtown Nassau area. The steps were carved out by some 600 slaves as an escape route from Fort Fincastle, which sits above, back in the 1700s.

So after that history lesson and seeing some of David's pieces, this was going to be the most PERFECT place to photography the new HOR collection. Topped with David telling me he wanted to use signature models in the country and incorporate straw, the goosebumps on my arms became more visible as the concept developed.

On location, David pulled out all the stops, completely reserving the site for his team, the models and my team, complete with catering and preferred parking! We had a makeup background built just for aesthetics, and I chose to go with a 1 light setup for the shoot. Working with 6 professional models had its benefits as well. The girls shifted, posed and walked into these marvellous compositions. The pieces fit each model as if they were made just for her frame and combined with very Avant grade makeup and hairstyles; the photoshoot's designer, David, took on the form of a master composer.

Thank you so much for sticking to the end of my story. You will find images and a BTS video below. Enjoy!

House of Raphelita SS21 GALLERY

SHOOT HIGHLIGHTS (BTS) House of Raphelita SS21

Design House: @raphelita_

Photography: @scharadlphoto

Video: @truevisionFSC

Production assistant: @alyssaholiic

Hair: @metamorphosis_bs

MUA: @kabukipaint

Accessories: @harltaylorbag

Shoes: @shoeluxxe242

Models

Jessica Frances-Thompson

Kejuana Beneby

Shauntae Miller

Tara Miller

Selvanique Wright

Milan Georges

Georgie and I worked together a lot in 2020 and coming up on the last shoot of the year, she wanted to do something exciting and epic. We searched the internet for days trying to find inspiration when she came across a photo that supermodel Naomi Campbell had posted. The image itself was very controversial because of what she spoke about. She received many negative comments due to the subject matter, but I loved the dress for me. Georgie loved the dress, and she told me she wanted to have it made and do a shoot somewhere in the now-infamous "dress."

Naomi Campbell photographed by Ethan James Green

So firstly, I am NOT a morning person but I told Georgie because of the nature of the dress, morning light would be incredible. We set call time for 6 am and my team and I drove to the location waiting on the arrival of our model.

Georgie showed up a few mins later and we all walked over to a beach where there was an amazing rock structure that I would put the model against. It would be the perfect backdrop to juxtapose her against.

I used a one-light setup, probing my Godox AD600 pro with a Glow beauty dish on a light stand to illuminate the model. I could have easily used natural light but I wanted more contrasting and “punchy” lighting.

Georgie hit pose after pose with the waves crashing behind her. She climbed the rocks, lay on the rocks and shed any fear she had of heights to get great shots again, and again, and again!

Check out this behind the scenes photo of our location and what it looked like shooting this upcoming talent. Please view the gallery below and enjoy. Drop a few comments or questions in the section following this article.

Be creative!

A FASHION SHOOT: HOUSE OF RAPHELITA SS21 by David Rolle

House of Raphelita SS21 GALLERY

SHOOT HIGHLIGHTS (BTS) House of Raphelita SS21

Naomi Campbell Inspired Fashion Shoot