Lifestyle

Season 10 from Bahari photographed by Scharad Lightbourne

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Season 10 from Bahari Bahamas was a very hard campaign to produce. Designs were redrawn and fabric samples tested multiple times. Being the brands chief photographer, I get a first hand preview before it hits the market. The brands CEO trusts my input (sometimes) and values the feedback that he gets from me. My first response after seeing final samples were, "this is the most mature collection from Bahari yet and I know people are going to love it, its a step in the right direction. " Their newest collection has been a long time coming and shows tremendous growth from the brand.

In planning the campaign photoshoot, there were certain elements that always play an important role in the success of the images. The right team had to have been assembled, the right cast and most importantly the right location. Bahari always seems to discover or use its resources to secure pretty mazing location on the island and this one was no different. our scenic view of beautiful blue Bahamian waters, modern architecture and textured backgrounds gave me all the inspiration I needed to put the mood board together. Once approved, I eagerly awaited shoot day.

My team and I worked consistency throughout the day using the sun to our advantage, and fully making use of the property. Along with the YNGDGRTS team, everything ran smoothly and with great ease from location to location. Shooting in direct sunlight is no joke but I was able to use modifiers, a fan and a powerful strobe to achieve the looks the client approved. See some of the images from the campaign below along with the cinematic shoot video below and do enjoy responsibly.

...until the next post! See you guys again and thanks for reading. 

Photography: Scharad LightbourneMUA: Erinn TrecoHair Stylist: Jameelah ThompsonStyling: ProductJointVideo: Ashley WhitneyPhoto Assistants: Kenzi Thompson // Jayden Mcintosh

Photography: Scharad Lightbourne

MUA: Erinn Treco

Hair Stylist: Jameelah Thompson

Styling: ProductJoint

Video: Ashley Whitney

Photo Assistants: Kenzi Thompson // Jayden Mcintosh

SEE THE COLLECTION

SEE THE CINEMATIC VIDEO

Courtney Spears. Portraits of a Ballerina

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Courtney Spears is an accomplished dancer and ballerina with Bahamian roots with a diverse portfolio that makes her a very recognized figure in her field. There are Bahamians all over the world like Courtney who are doing some pretty amazing things, so when Courtney and I first met, we knew we would be doing some work together. I wanted to capture unconventional portraits of this incredible ballerina. We planned the entire shoot over a few days and I wanted to keep things simple as I always do but in this case, I wanted a bit more in terms of the creative direction. I enlisted the help of designer Ria Georgina to make a dramatic tulle skirt for my ballerina to wear and that was a creative process indeed from choosing the right colour to length and fullness of the skirt. 

It took me a minute to decide on where I would shoot Courtney and I mulled over this for days. I didn't want studio shots and the locations I'd scouted prior to just weren't giving me the character I needed. Until...I decided to go back to one of those very same locations, the Potters Cay Dock. I walked around some more and found a space that I couldn't believe I missed. So I took some photos and went back home to finish my shot list.

On the day of the shoot, I met Courtney at the studio of Sarsha Lepeche (MUA) where she applied a dramatic look to her face. My team met me at the location and we shot effortless looks of Courtney moving and contorting her body like it was painted on a canvas. The location of course completely opposed her movements and femininity and the team loved it. Please enjoy the images responsibly.

Photography + Styling: Scharad LightbourneMUA: Makeup by Sarsha LepecheGrips: Gary Martin, Martin Gray // Video: Ashley Whitney

Photography + Styling: Scharad Lightbourne

MUA: Makeup by Sarsha Lepeche

Grips: Gary Martin, Martin Gray // Video: Ashley Whitney

SEE COURTNEY IN MOTION

Vida Cayo Summer Campaign Photoshoot

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I'm going to apologize ahead of time for this post but its going to make you feel really guilty about your current workout regime. Vida Cayo recruited some amazingly fit models to stand in their first ever advertising campaign and hiring me, an amateur fitness expert to photograph it. Walking on set, I found myself to be intimidated by the abs, pecs and glutes that were being paraded around but I stood confident in my Nike tank that I would use them to my advantage. The location was incredible and I was pretty happy with it having seen it a few days prior. I'd already mapped out the areas which I wanted to shoot against and the weather was perfect too. We had green grass, trees and a beautiful panoramic view of the beach.

But not to be outdone, I had a guest model that Id pose with my live models that was equally as fit and toned as they were. Her iron frame and wheels of steel were equally as sexy as her topless frame and all eyes were laid on this custom Jeep Wrangler once she pulled into the yard.

The shoot was "bananas" and tons of fun and these fitness models has an even better time than I did. With my MUA and Stylist working feverishly to ensure the models looked their best. I loved the jeep as Im a huge fan of the custom Wranglers. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect shoot, day or collection of diverse models at which to point my camera to. Please enjoy these images responsibly.

Photography: Scharad Lightbourne // Styling: Shan OliverMUA: Makeup by Vonz FergusonGrips: Gary Martin, Martin gray, Kenzi Thompson + Derek Adams // Video: Michael Cortez

Photography: Scharad Lightbourne // Styling: Shan Oliver

MUA: Makeup by Vonz Ferguson

Grips: Gary Martin, Martin gray, Kenzi Thompson + Derek Adams // Video: Michael Cortez

WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO

Manipulating Natural Light for Portraits with Simple Modifiers

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I woke up one morning and decided that I wanted to shoot some natural light portraits and I scrolled through my Instagram to see who I could ask randomly. It's great when you can find someone who actually models and acts also. Elena Bargo was just that person that I had in mind to shoot for such an exercise so when I reached out to her and mentioned what I wanted to do, she happily agreed. We had tried working together before but busy schedules and that cup of tea made it tricky at times. So when I finally locked her down, I think my finals words to her in my pitch were, "let's make it happen!"

Elena mentioned that she lives just off an old golf course and in my head, the greens, trees and foliage would be perfect for the shoot. So after sending her a mood board and agreeing on wardrobe, my team and I set out to capture Elena and shoot a tutorial video at the same time.

Armed with a simple setup, I used two modifiers; 1 large diffuser and 1 collapsible reflector,  manipulating the light on the golf course and illuminating my subject who gave me great looks the entire set. We shot at different points on the course and even threw in a few small props just to give the shoot more of a lifestyle feel. Light retouching and small presets in Lightroom produced a look that I am more than pleased with and I think Elena was too with the entire experience. Watch the Video below and subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more videos.

Image: Scharad Lightbourne // MUA: Erinn Simone

Image: Scharad Lightbourne // MUA: Erinn Simone

WATCH THE TUTORIAL VIDEO. SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE

Video: Tony Williams Media. Editing: Scharad Lightbourne

Lifestyle Photography with Carolyn Carter

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Carolyn Carter, Miss US Virgin Islands visits Nassau a couple times a year and every time she comes into town, we always set up a photo-shoot. Carolyn loves lifestyle photography, and so do I. I love the free flowing natural of this particular style and that would make it easy to shoot someone who equally felt the same.

We took a boat out and ventured into the Lyford Cay area to find the perfect spot to shoot several different looks. Being the unapologetically impatient photographer that I am, I began to shoot Carolyn onboard the boat!

Being an island girl at heart, Carolyn pulled looks from brands like BHLDN, LikeToKNowIt, Solid and Striped and Isabella Rose Swim, which helped us get some great shots around the key. The beach was beautiful and has spaces full of character on which to shoot my model against including and old dock which I thoroughly enjoyed retreating under for shade! Overall the shoot went great and using natural light, we got some really nice photos.

Image: Scharad Lightbourne // Swimsuit by: Isabella Rose Swim

Image: Scharad Lightbourne // Swimsuit by: Isabella Rose Swim

Lifestyle Portraits of Artist in The Bahamas

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I'm a part of an industry where there are some pretty amazing creatives, many whom I've had the pleasure to photograph. I've known illustrator and painter,  Philece for quite some time and I've always admired her creativity. Her illustrations match her personality, soft, vibrant with an energy you have to see in person to believe. 

I called her and said "Philece, let's shoot!" and with little to no reluctance, she adamantly accepted my offer. I told her I wanted to shoot her in her environment, the studio, her front yard with simple styling but capturing her personality and energy.

My approach as the photographer was to capture her in bright surroundings with clean bursts of light and pops of color that would portray Philece the way I saw her. I knew many of the shots would be "in the moment" and with her quirky, awkwardly funny and an aesthetic that bleeds creativity, I knew I'd capture her candidly and create images that truly represent the artist. 

Photography + Styling: Scharad LightbourneMUA: Makeup by LilyGrips: Keron Wood // Video: Tony Williams

Photography + Styling: Scharad Lightbourne

MUA: Makeup by Lily

Grips: Keron Wood // Video: Tony Williams