Javotte, or “Javie” as she is affectionately called, is one of the country’s top designers. I’ve always wanted to work with Javie because her designs are phenomenal. Her imagination and skillset with a needle and thread seem to have no limitation. Her art director Wild Tamarind (Tamara Delaney), reached out to me. I was thrilled to hear that Javie was working on a new collection and wanted me to photograph it.
What sold me even more, was that Tamara told me she secured a fantastic location for the shoot to take place, the old lighthouse that sits at the face of the Nassau Port. I thought I’d have to be a fool to pass up this opportunity…so the planning began.
We put together this fantastic team of creatives to bring the vision together. Tamara planted a few seeds in my head and gave me the creative freedom to map out how the images would look. The models were hand-picked because we wanted a specific aesthetic for all the visuals. Moreso, I wanted moving visuals to the set because the location would lend to this mystery of how the models would have landed there in the first place.
Tamara and I must have met months in advance working and planning the shoot with MUA Cody Fountain and Aline Charles, who was charged with hair styling. At the same time, Javie slaved away, creating her couture masterpieces. We designed the scenes for both stills and video, scouted the location before and made a detailed list of supplies we’d need before our journey to get to this lighthouse.
Speaking on the journey, we travelled by boat to the lighthouse and had a short hike that put the team at the doorstep of this once historic landmark. The boat crew, myself and the videographer took the boat closer to strategically get all of the heavy gear from the ship to land because the hike would have been too much. We prevailed with our mission, and the shoot was incredible. Watched the dresses adorn the models with the lighthouse in the backdrop, seagulls overhead, and a few passing ships made the set feel unreal.
I decide to photograph this editorial with only natural light. I knew it would give the feel that I enjoy shooting the most. I relied heavily on the available light that I had and was able to pose the model around the light with confidence.
Please enjoy the images and video responsibly and let me know what you thought of the shoot in the comments below.
WATCH THE CINEMATIC FILM
Javotte Bethell x Scharad Lightbourne with Wild Tamarind Bahamas
Couture inspired. A Bridal Landscape. Artfully designed.
Credits
Gown Designer: Javotte Couture
Art Director: Wild Tamarind Bahamas (Tamara Delany)
Makeup Artist: Cody Fountain
Hair Stylist: Aline Charles
Models
Daniella
Beauchamp
Megan Skye
Serena Chen
Grips
Tameka Petit Homme
Cidney Thompson
Video
Film: Scharad Lightbourne
BTS: Shavron Rolle