Francine Russell in “Olde Town Lady”
OLDE TOWNE LADY is a series that brings the stories of different generations of Bahamian women out of the shadows and analyzes how they collectively contributed to the culture and traditions that are common and upheld in our Bahamian society today. We aim to theorize and construct the historical knowledge of Bahamian Women through Oral Histories and Creative Interpretations.
Read More
I have always wanted to push myself as a portrait photographer. Beauty portraits are one of my favourite genres to shoot, and when you have a fantastic team of makeup artists and hairstylists, it makes these sessions incredibly rewarding. We all are very clean and minimal in our styles, and we like to keep stunning but straightforward aesthetics in our work. Cody Fountain and Aline Charles were the perfect pairings for this portrait session.
So to get this ball rolling, we wanted to select a diverse range of models to style for hair makeup and, ultimately, the photo. I think we did a great job choosing women who’d had little to no modelling experience. From natural hair to stunning blue eyes, the portfolio of subjects who confirmed excited us and we were ready to get to work in the studio right away.
Cody, Aline and I worked closely together even before the shoot to figure out what looks we would create for each model.
We threw in stylist/designer Ria Georgina who put the finishing touches on each model, and the shoot went over really well. From the hair to eyeshadow and more, the team was confident that we’d keep things simple while enhancing each woman.
© 2022. Scharad Lightbourne
“Working with Scharad was a cakewalk. He’s a consummate professional full of creative energy along with the perfect timing to capture the essence in every shot. He went above and beyond to ensure that the environment and creative process brought out the best expressions in me and my wife. An absolute pleasure to work with and the finished products are indeed timeless to say the least.”
I met Bobby Chen a few years ago when I did some headshots for the real estate firm he worked for, and he seemed to be a pretty cool dude. As I followed his career path, I noticed he had an interesting portfolio that included cryptocurrency, private banking, and more so, a love for collection luxury and vintage timepieces.
You see, photographers are always looking to add more exciting people to their portfolios. Bobby seemed intelligent, accomplished and we both shared similar interests.
I reached out to Bobby via social media and asked him if he would shoot with me. After explaining my concept some more, he eagerly agreed. I explained to him I would photograph him in a way that timelined what a possible day would look like for him. I made up this story that he’d wake up, take a morning swim, have coffee in bed with his wife before heading to work and I also threw a pseudo modelling career for fun and date night with his beautiful wife, Patrice. We all felt this was going to be a great shoot to execute.
The shot list was simple enough, but I called on friend/stylist Shan Oliver to put all the looks together. Bobby had multiple options for wardrobe from his own closet, so we simply pulled from that to make it work. Working with a stylist is very important; I showed Shan a mood board of looks that I liked, and she was able to put pieces together based on my vision and used her expertise to make each outfit pop. She knows my style is clean and straightforward, so she made the styling the same.
The shoot went relatively smooth and we shot the entire day. Bobby got through it like a champ and with his wife by his side, he was able to confidently knock and model his looks out the park. The team had a great time working with this multifaceted Bahamian.
Bobby Chen by Scharad Lightbourne
Styling: Shan Oliver
Grip: Tameka Petit Homme
Grip: Sammy Rutherford
MUAs: Torkel Dawkins- Patrice’s morning look
MUA: Raven Forbes - Patrice’s evening look
This title is so fitting because I had no time to photograph gold medalist Steven Gardiner. When I tell you the lengths I took to photograph Steven, you might not believe me, but I will tell you how this opportunity came to me to photograph “Speedy Stevie.”
Here we are, The Bahamas, a country hyped, and excited, fresh off back to back wins in the men and women's 400-meter race by local track athletes Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo. The whole country was excited for them to come home, and a light bulb went off in my head. I wondered, "wouldn't it be an honour to photograph either one of them? Cementing them in the fabric of Bahamian Photography?"
I'll be honest with you, I had connected with Steven a few years prior because I wanted to photograph him shortly before he won his first Olympic medal. This Abaco born son holds numerous Bahamian records amongst his other accolades, so I felt my role was to make sure unique and driven Bahamians like him are photographed for historical purposes.
Let's get back on track. (pun intended)
I was determined to photograph Steven and Shaunae on their return trip, and once I saw the welcome celebrations at the airport, I got on my mobile phone and started my search to contact either athlete. I am not exaggerating when I say I called the entire country to reach Steven. I felt he may have been more accessible than Shaunae. Yes, I did have his contact, but it was a US number, and he wasn't answering texts. I contacted people close to him who never followed up. I called EVERYONE but, to my disappointment, I struck out with the opportunity to photograph him, and I watched everyone get their 5 seconds with the two and then they were gone.
But…one day, on a Tuesday afternoon, something told me not to give up. I texted Steven, and he responded! I congratulated him and told him what I wanted to do. I threw out the question, "when would you be in town again?" to which he responded, "Thursday." I gasped, thinking he meant a week from that day, but he meant 2 days away! I had an hour of his free time, and I had to make it count!
I scrambled to think of a concept. Steven was down for whatever I came up with. After crossing out a million ideas, I just decided to keep it simple. I would take my backdrop outside and use natural light. Less fuss, less clutter, just clean and simple.
Steven brought a few clothing items, ones he'd packed prior, so I didn't style him; I just picked out a few pieces I thought may have been great on camera. I wanted to call my stylist badly, but there was no time. I had to think quick. I had no mood board, shot list, or planned anything, just me, my Nikon, and the subject.
Steven was surprisingly awkward in front of the camera. A far from his natural environment of running on the track. But that pushed me to direct him more. I was happy with what I got in a short time, and hopefully, these images last forever. Plus I got to hold an Olympic medal!
Please enjoy!
Leo Creary, a gifted wedding photographer, called me very excited about his 30th birthday. In fact, every year, I shoot Leo for some occasion but turning 30 was a milestone for him, and he shared a few concepts with me. I’ve photographed Leo for years, and you may recognize our work together from shooting him and his wife Keva’s fantastic wedding in Bimini, The Bahamas. I enjoy working with Leo as he always gives me creative control for photographing him, and it didn’t take me long to come up with styling for the photographer.
I wanted a rugged background because Leo was going to be styled in some pretty dapper suits. A cream, pinstripe, and 3-piece suits, but there was one more piece missing. I thought a vintage Land Rover would have been perfect, and in my search, I could not find an owner willing to let me use their vehicle. So I moved onto plan b to source my dream SUV, a Jeep Wrangler JL. I called a buddy of mine who I knew would say yes right away…and he did!
Once we arrived at our location, I tested a few shots with artificial light, but I decided to shoot natural. I hadn’t shot natural for some time. I’ve become a strobe nut, and I’ve been shooting more studio work, but being outdoors in that fantastic location just sparked that in me. The area we shot at was primarily used for landfills, and the white limestone rocks bounced light all around me. It was heaven. I photographed Leo in and around the vehicle, trying to tell a story with the images.
Leo was natural, posing and moving his body to complement the lens. We did shots still, moving and took risks climbing the limestone to get great pictures from different perspectives. I loved how the images turned out. Please enjoy them below.
HOUSE OF RAPHELITA SS21
David Rolle, creative director of House of Raphelita, wrote me one day asking if I'd be interested in shooting his new collection, to which I adamantly told him, "Yes!" David and I worked together for some time now, and I actually pushed him to finish his new collection. We met sometime back in 2020, but that year doesn't count, so David told me he would be ready in the first quarter of 2021 with his new collection.
"You think I should get the 66 Steps for the shoot?"
That's what David texted me one day about a possible location, and I replied,
"Why are you even asking me? That location would be epic!"
The 66 Steps or Queens Staircase, as its historically titled, is actually 65 steps that are carved out of solid limestone in the downtown Nassau area. The steps were carved out by some 600 slaves as an escape route from Fort Fincastle, which sits above, back in the 1700s.
So after that history lesson and seeing some of David's pieces, this was going to be the most PERFECT place to photography the new HOR collection. Topped with David telling me he wanted to use signature models in the country and incorporate straw, the goosebumps on my arms became more visible as the concept developed.
On location, David pulled out all the stops, completely reserving the site for his team, the models and my team, complete with catering and preferred parking! We had a makeup background built just for aesthetics, and I chose to go with a 1 light setup for the shoot. Working with 6 professional models had its benefits as well. The girls shifted, posed and walked into these marvellous compositions. The pieces fit each model as if they were made just for her frame and combined with very Avant grade makeup and hairstyles; the photoshoot's designer, David, took on the form of a master composer.
Thank you so much for sticking to the end of my story. You will find images and a BTS video below. Enjoy!
Design House: @raphelita_
Photography: @scharadlphoto
Video: @truevisionFSC
Production assistant: @alyssaholiic
Hair: @metamorphosis_bs
MUA: @kabukipaint
Accessories: @harltaylorbag
Shoes: @shoeluxxe242
Models
Jessica Frances-Thompson
Kejuana Beneby
Shauntae Miller
Tara Miller
Selvanique Wright
Milan Georges
