Buying Products from Etsy

I was unsure what to do for my final Decor photoshoot, and as bright colours and unusual shapes were in, I did some research on cool wedding items for Summer.  There were lots of pastel options on amazon, and then I remembered the website Etsy.

I found some really pretty stripy and zig zag paper bags in green, blue and orange which fitted great with the Tropical theme.  I also found some bright multi coloured pots that you could put popcorn or cupcakes in.  I ordered these straight away with some small circle multi coloured confetti to put in the background of my planned images.

As we are now only two weeks away from our hand in date, I am really hoping they turn up on time, even if I can quickly photograph them as they won't need too much retouching on photoshop.  I am going to buy some fun sweets to put in the little paper bags and some cupcakes and popcorn for the boxes.  These should add life and excitement to my images.

In the future, I would definitely order these in advance.  I understand I left it until the last minute which is totally my fault.  In order to fit this photoshoot in, I have to make sure most of my other work is done and that this is the last thing I add to my website and blog.

Competitors and Target Market

Competitors

Competitors for the website are trend forecasting companies that wedding organisers already follow to get new and up coming inspiration.  WGSN is a popular trend forecasting website and although it’s mainly fashion base, lots of ideas can be picked up from new collections.  WGSN is a subscription service where subscribers can stay ‘ahead of the trend curve’ (WGSN). The Wedding Forecaster will be different because will take those upcoming trends and turn them bridal.  For example, symbolism from future trends will shine through bridal form such as hair and make up ideas and fashion influences.  This website will also be free whereas WGSN is not, however they have a lot more information and are aimed at a wider target market.  A few websites such as ‘The Knot’ and the ‘Bridal Guide’ have new articles at the beginning of the year such as ‘Wedding trends for 2016’.  Whereas the WeddingForecaster will have constant updates rather than one new article each year.  Trendzoom and Trendstop are also trend forecasting companies. Although the focus on the catwalk side of fashion, I thought they would be a great inspiration source.  Trendstop has many sections with different forecasts such as beauty trends and colour forecasts.  I will be using both of these for ideas for The WeddingForecaster.

Unique Selling Point

The unique selling point of the website is to inform wedding organisers to have new out of the box ideas which will excite brides to be.  Being up to date with fashion and unique thoughts for brides to be is important because most like to have ‘different’ elements even if it’s just their table favours.  The WeddingForecaster will wedding organisers and event planners to think outside of the box so their consumers can have a unique special day.  As there is a niche in the market for a wedding trend forecasting website, it should have many visitors and be used regularly.

Target Market

The Wedding Forecaster is aimed at men and women aged 25-40 who are looking for upcoming and new trends for their weddings.  Something different with an international twist will be perfect for them.  They’re the type of couple who enjoy trying new cuisine but also love a typical country pub.  Travelling is important to the couple and they love learning about new cultures.  They dress well and love to keep up with the latest fashions.  I will also expect Wedding organising companies to use my website too.  The WeddingForecaster will be important to them as they will need to keep the bride or groom updated with what is on trend for the season they are getting married.

Age: 25-40

Sex: Men and women

Income bracket: £30,000 - £70,000

Location: London and the South

Interests: Fashion, on trends, styling, make up and hair, films, art, cultures, travelling, food.

Spending habits: Loves luxury unique items but will also shop on the high street. 

Meeting with Emma

After I had built my website some more, I decided it was time to meet with my FMP mentor to show how I am getting on.

I was honest and said that I was behind schedule but I had done quite a few photoshoots and editing.  I showed her my website so far and she was pleased with how I was getting on.  Obviously we both agreed I could do more, but with only a few weeks left it was important for  me to work with what I have and make it amazing.  I was happy to do this.

I explained what shoots I had left to do and my new time schedule.  Emma advised me to do another Decor and Make-up shoot, but luckily these were the two that I had planned.  Other than those two things she told me to work on my blog and keep the good work up.  I am excited to hand in my FMP so I am desperate to get it finished whilst putting the right amount of time and effort into it.

Website Update

Most of my photoshoots are finished now apart from two more that I have planned.  I took this time to add the images I had already edited onto my website.  This is how it is looking so far.

The only sections that have no images are Home and Fashion, but I do have photoshoots planned for both of these.  I am keeping each tab the same with a slideshow of images in each.  Each picture lasts 3 seconds and them moves onto the next, I feel this timescale is long enough before moving on.  I will also be adding text to explain why and how these things will be on trend for S/S17.

I am really happy with how my website is so far.  Considering I have done everything myself, I feel proud that I was able to achieve this.  Looking back three years ago, I would have never thought I would know what a 'trend' is let alone building and designing my own FMP website.

Flower Photoshoot

I bought the flowers I had mentioned in my Flower Inspiration post, and I booked the still life studio. I learnt from my mistakes from my Lantern test shoot and made sure I had everything I needed before the shoot such as scissors, blue tac and string.  I also borrowed a pretty vase to display the flowers in, here are some of my favourite images from the shoot.

This was the vase that I had borrowed from a friend.  I really liked it with the flowers however the still life table was on a slight slant which affected my image, therefore I decided to crop it to the image below.  I actually prefer this image, you can see the details in the flowers as the lighting is great and I used a beauty lens on my camera.

I also love the image above, the detail on the rose is gorgeous, every edge of the petals is clear and sharp which is exactly what I wanted to photograph.  The colours are bold and I'm really pleased with the lighting.

I proceeded with the rustic theme, tying the pink crepe string around the unkempt stems.  I then attached the brown paper tag and wrote 'Bride' on it.  These would be gorgeous as a bridal bouquet or even as a table decoration.

Overall I am really happy with this photoshoot and I will definitely be using them on my website, the lighting was perfect and the high quality camera I used picked up the detail amazingly.  In the future if I was to redo this shoot I would maybe buy some more flowers.  It would have bulked up the bunch a bit more to look more like a bouquet.  However, the images I have created are great and I am proud of myself, especially as I photographed them and retouched them myself on photoshop.

Natural Make-Up Photoshoot

Although bright colours are on trend for S/S17, there are still some muted and pale colours within the pantone scale.  I thought some brides may decides to bring the colour through other accessories such as jewellery, hair pieces or flowers, so I wanted to provide some natural make-up images for their inspiration.

I kept it simple with natural brown, golden and pink tones, here are the images.

 Here I used some brown and gold shades from the Urban Decay Naked palette to create this soft smoky eye.  I kept the eyebrow natural and applied some mascara to the eyelashes.  This would be perfect for a natural look, paired with a nude lip.

I used the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette for this eye to add some pink and gold tones.  This would be great for brides who would like a touch of colour but nothing too bold.  It would also pair well with a pink lip to tie the make-up together.

Here is the first eye make-up with Estee Lauder's Pure Color Envy Shine  - Boudoir Baby.  I have accentuated the highlight on the cheek bones which will catch the light from the wedding photography and I have kept the bronzer natural.

Boudoir Baby - Estee Lauder, Pure Color Envy Shine.

Blossom Bright - Estee Lauder, Pure Color Envy Shine.  This colour is slightly more daring for a natural make-up.  However if used with a soft smoky eye, the look could be completed for a game bride.

Lastly I finished with a Lipglass from MAC in the colour Please Me.  It's not bold at all and will look great with a strong eye make-up.

I am pleased with how this photoshoot turned out.  However some of the images were slightly blury.  I will be using a few on my website, just to show different make-up trends, but I am very excited to do another make-up shoot for The WeddingForecaster.  It is going to include bolder brighter colours that will be on trend for S/S17.

Flower Inspiration

Traditional flowers for a bridal bouquet are usually elegant white, pink and cream theme.  For Spring Summer 17, I wanted to take a different approach and incorporate this season on trend colours.  I also wanted to include some tropical unusual flowers to include in the bouquet.

I started by doing some research into meanings of different flowers.  This is the combination I have come up with and would like to buy to photograph.

Pink Rose - Pink roses convey happiness and gratefulness

White Rose - White roses represent purity and innocence 

Orange Rose - Orange roses convey desire

Red Tulips - These represent true love

Yellow Tulips - Yellow tulips represent happiness

Daisy Gerberas - These represent loyal love and purity, I would like to have an orange gerbera which will add desire.

For my next photoshoot I am going to purchase these flowers and arrange them all myself.  I have already bought some crepe ribbon and some brown paper tags to add to the bouquet.  I would like to go for a rustic theme which mirrors the relaxed trend of S/S17.  Here are some inspiration images.

Although these are not the particular colours I will be using, I love the rustic way of bunching them together.  The stems are left long and jagged which looks relaxed and pretty.  I feel this look will be very popular in 2017.

Materials Moodboard

I collected all of these images from WGSN from these packages - The Textiles Forecast Women S/S17 - Pause, The Textiles Forecast Women S/S17 - Edgelands, The Textiles Forecast Women S/S17 - Encounter Culture.

The materials I have discovered for bridal wear S/S17 are Silk, Lace, Linen and Viscose.  Big floral patterns will also be on trend which I would like to show on the dresses maybe in a beautiful lace pattern.

As I am really enjoying shooting still life, I have decided to buy some material to photograph.  I feel I am good at this style of photography and I am able to get perfect lighting.  I am also going to buy some wedding dresses to model myself for my website.  I have found some gorgeous dresses on Asos that fit the Spring/Summer17 trend.

Make-Up Inspiration

I collected all these images from WGSN from these trend forecast packs - The Beauty Colour Cosmetics Forecast S/S17 - Encounter Culture Club Tropicana, Digital Wave Powerlines, Digital Wave Acid Anarchy.

These are the upcoming trends for beauty for S/S17.  As these have been forecasted, I need to link them to a bridal make-up without it being too bold and unrealistic.  I mentioned in a previous post that this seasons bright colour palette reflects the 1980's.

The red lip is doable on a wedding day and could look quite classic and sophisticated with the right dress and hairstyle.  I also noticed that dewy skin with a prominent highlighter would also be on trend, this would sit well for a bridal make-up as the majority of brides like to look radiant.

I am going to try and portray some of the brighter colours through the make-up possibly using eyeshadow.  I plan to mix them with neutrals to create a softer approach.

Problems that have occurred and Schedule

I have tried to document all the problems I've come across along the way, such as falling ill and having to scale down my website.  As well as test shooting and finding problems with lighting and the general shoot not going well.

However, I had planned a photographer for a photoshoot on Tuesday 26th April and she unfortunately had to cancel.  I normally do all the photography myself as I do not like to be let down by people, however, I was the model for this photoshoot.  I panicked at first as I knew everyone would be so busy around this time with their own work.  Then I remembered I had modelled for someone a few weeks ago, and she said if I ever needed her help she would do it.  I instantly text her and explained the situation, she said she was free that day which put my mind at ease.

Reflecting on my past few years at University, I do wish I had made more connections with some photographers and models.  I feel this would have helped with my trust issue of people letting me down for photoshoots as I have also been let down in the past.  From this experience, I have definitely learnt to collaborate with people and keep in touch.  Even if it's to drop a message to ask how they are or if they had worked on anything cool or interesting recently.

This was my original time schedule

Week Commencing
25/01/16	Begin reflective journal and organise models for photo shoots.
01/02/16	Buy domain name and have a draft of website layout. Buy some products for upcoming shoots.
08/02/16	3 shoots of still life this week and editing images.
15/02/16	3 shoots, make-up and hair and finish editing from the week before.
22/02/16	Make sure all images are edited and add them to website.  Work on reflective journal.
29/02/16	Make food and photograph for 3 more photo shoots and edit the images.
07/03/16	More shooting.
21/03/16	Edit images and add them to website.
28/03/16	Work on website and choose fonts.  Start writing for website.
04/04/16	More shooting and editing images.
11/04/16	Work on reflective journal and start finalising website.
18/04/16	Last minute photo shoots and editing final images. Finalise reflective journal and write evaluation.
25/04/16	Finish the website and evaluation.
02/05/16	Hand in week.

I have definitely not stuck to this time frame. Here is my new schedule for the last few weeks.

18/04/16  - 3 photoshoots, editing and blog work

25/04/16 - last photoshoot, final editing, finalising website and blog work

02/05/16 - finishing website, evaluation and hand in.

I try not to leave everything to the last minute, and I have definitely got better at time management than first year.  It's not perfect and I do need to work on it but I have definitely learnt from leaving everything until the week of hand in.