Tatyana in Sausalito
My sister and wearable-art clothing designer in Sausalito, California, Holly Badgley, hired me to photograph some of her latest pieces worn by a Marin County artist and writer she met at a local farmer’s market.
Our session started out just outside Holly’s studio on the walkways, where I had Tatyana walk and skip towards and away from the camera, to get the front and back of the first garment.
During this first phase I was able to get a sense of Tatyana, her look, and how she moves naturally, and how she took my direction. Turns out she was a pleasure to work with as she would slip naturally into a pose and then easily modulate the pose based on my comments.
Dervish Taya Coat
Tatyana posing on the stairs in the main entrance.
Being familiar with my sister’s work, both the pattern design and the artistic techniques, I didn’t really think much of the fabric of these coats—they looked like all of her other work. Later, when putting together the blog post she created I read the copy she wrote and found out that one of the coats was made from one of my mother’s drop cloths, making the coat all the more poignant.
It’s nice when a piece has deeper meaning. Our mother passed in 2023 and the use of her drop cloth… Additionally, it turns out this line is named after my daughter, Taya.
As the session progressed from full sun to golden hour to sunset and finally to blue hour we experienced a range of natural lighting, which I combined with my Profoto off-camera flash. Towards the end of our session we moved from the studio building to a more rough and tumble boatyard where we discovered an old wooden sail boat up on a dry dock—someone’s project. The weathered patina beckoned and
With the photoshoot finishing on a high note at the yellow boat, I’m now champing at the bit for a second shoot starting where we left off, and focusing exclusively in the boatyard. The blue light, the yellow patina, the shapes of the boat, Holly’s clothes and Tatyana’s look deserve to be taken to the next level. I can envision shooting stills and video with two models moving around the boat and the small walkways of the boatyard.
Hopefully, we will make this happen in 2025.
THE KIT
Sony A7iv
Sigma 85mm 1.4 Art
Profoto A10
Profoto Clic Octa 2′
Drop Cloth Taya Jacket
Dec 12, 2023: Sunbeams catching the marine fog.
Dec 12, 2023: Morning lightshow seen from across the wetlands.
February 11, 2022 Sunrise shot positioned for symmetry.
Khaki Drop Cloth Taya Coat
Other shoots for Holly on her website
Gallery
