Last year we decided to update our website and create new promotional material, so we scheduled a photo shoot to create a group of images that could be used for a variety of purposes.
The easiest part of setting this up was choosing the photographer – Shannon Brooke. We love her work enough to publish multiple books, so it was no question about who we wanted to help with our branding. We love Shannon’s artistic eye and vintage-contemporary style.
The hardest part of putting the shoot together was finding the right location. We knew we wanted something dark and unique – not just a simple studio set. We initially tried to find an old library or a vintage hotel, but couldn’t pin down just the right place. We researched a number of interesting nearby places on AirBnB, but they were either cost prohibitive or too residential (or the one who thought we were trying to shoot porn and turned us down…). After much investigation we came across The Aria in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. This venue is now normally used for weddings, but it’s a beautiful multi-purpose facility. It was originally an industrial warehouse, but later became a theater, then a music venue. It’s styled with all of the original rough brick, with a lot of the walls left in state of partial deconstruction.
We also wanted two models with different looks. Our first choice was of course Ginny Rosewater – our long term associate, friend, and muse. It was on social media that we found our other model – Kitty Hagen. She is a young model based out of Madison, WI. She’s incredibly beautiful and was a perfect fit for the aesthetic of our shoot.
We were extremely lucky to find that hair stylist Tiffany Raelene was going to be in town from Northern California the same time as Shannon, so we made sure to book her help. We didn’t know any Minneapolis makeup artists, so we again had to do an abundance of research. We were happy to find Julie Lam, a super-professional and very talented makeup artist in the Twin Cities.
On Shannon’s expert advice, we decided to round out the crew with a stylist. Fashion designer Heather Moore (of her own brand Millie Moore Clothing) had recently moved to Madison and agreed to come to Minneapolis to help dress and style the models. I can’t express enough how helpful it was to have a dedicated stylist – this is not something we could have done ourselves, and it had such a positive impact on the final product.
The Aria is like a dozen different locations wrapped into one. We were able to shoot in a lot of different areas, backgrounds, and lighting. Plus, they let Beefy come with us for the day!
The final pictures came out amazing. You can see them now on our website, stickers, advertisements, and pretty much anything else we need. Thank you so much to Shannon Brooke and the rest of the crew for helping us take our brand to the next level.