Scharad Lightbourne 2/16/21 Scharad Lightbourne 2/16/21

Neil Dames for Gustavus Augusta, photographed by Scharad Lightbourne

Grand Bahama native, Gustavus Cox, the creative director of Gustavus Augusta and I sat down in September of 2020 to plan and produce this shoot. One of the first challenges we had was finding the right male model to fit the looks. We had cast about 3 guys prior to. I didn't think about Neil Dames until later in the creative process so when I showed Gus Neil’s social media profiles, he exclaimed, “we need him, he’s perfect for this!”

I wasn't sure that Neil would even agree to do the shoot. He’d retired from modelling for some time now, but I thought he could pull this off. I reached out to him on Facebook and told him what I wanted to do, and Neil immediately said yes...reluctantly. Neil said jokingly, "Now, I'm not as young and fit as I use to be Scharad, so you will have A LOT of work to do!"

He was in love with the idea that we could collaborate together for a local brand and of course, he'd get to wear custom suits!

We did an initial tape up where Gus got to sit down and chat with Neil. After taping him up, Gus assured me that he would have samples ready in two weeks. However, he clarified for me that the first fitting session would probably call for adjustments. Surprisingly, when we met again for fitting, the suits fit Neil perfectly! Both jackets and pants from each look fit him as if they were sewn directly onto his body. Perfection!

On the day of the shoot, everyone was excited to work. Neil followed direction very well and moved very quickly and kept reminiscing on his former days as a model. We even laughed about his grey hair and tattooed covered body, which worked well with the shoot's overall aesthetic. Neil was still in good shape and his genes had kept his frame, lanky and slim.

I kept the lighting dramatic and the background simple and focused on getting great shots with Neil that showed these amazing handmade suits.

Have a look at the work below, leave a comment or two. I’d love to hear from you.

Model: Neil Dames // Stylist + Designer: Gustavus Augusta // Accessories: The Pico Brand

Scharad Lightbourne 2/5/19 Scharad Lightbourne 2/5/19

RED OCTOBER sets field on fire in this editorial

Model: LV AdderleyPhotographed + Styled by: Scharad LightbourneGrips: Rayandra Nairn. Tariq Cartwright — Model: LV Adderley
Photographed + Styled by: Scharad Lightbourne
Grips: Rayandra Nairn. Tariq Cartwright

For many years, I’d drive past this open field and always marvel at how interesting it looked. I loved the overgrown grass, the wide openness and there was an old Infiniti Q45 sitting abandoned and derelict in the distance. It was a set waiting to be photographed. Now, don’t chastise me for taking this long to shoot there but I needed a good reason too and finally, I had one!

Just like the field, I’d known LV for some time as well. We use to work together on a digital magazine some years ago and he’s always expressed admiration and respect for my work. He lives in Canada now but he told me he was coming to Nassau for the holidays and I jumped at the opportunity to photograph this fashionable dude.

Before he arrived we would speak online discussing looks and how we could style him. I had always been inspired by monochromatic fashion so I suggested we shoot him in this theme. We both agreed on a red suit, something that would be clean and very minimalist but I knew with the red in the field, composition-wise would make for some pretty cool images…and yes, LV surprised me on set with a broken wrist and large cumbersome brace around it but I simply looked at it as if were an accessory.

It was great working with LV. He was easy to shoot and ultimately pose and the car was an incredible prop to juxtapose with the model. We even got in some great video with my iPhone Xs Max and DJI Osmo Mobile and I threw together a quick something. You can enjoy the film and images below.

Enjoy!

Scharad Lightbourne 12/5/18 Scharad Lightbourne 12/5/18

Kenton Ferguson fashionably conquers Downtown Nassau in "9-5"

Kenton Ferguson approached me several months back to help him produce a model portfolio for him. He’d been on this fitness journey for some time and he was starting to get some attention from agencies both local and abroad but the one thing they kept telling him was that he needed more photography. More photos they said! We did a few headshots, simple studio shots and a few lifestyle images of the upcoming model.

So if you press fast forward a few months later, Kenton said that he’s ready to build his portfolio again but with fashion images outside of the studio. As the light bulb goes off in my head, I'm 10 steps ahead of him, thinking of the perfect location and looks Id want him to wear. I told him that this was definitely possible and that we could start planning right away. All the key pieces were already in place.

I had wanted to produce and style a men’s shoot for some time involving suits and style them with multiple pieces and so in this case, Kenton would be my muse. Fine Threads, one of my long-standing clients provided clothing for the shoot and I would call on some of my fashionable friends like Kedar Clarke, Giorgio Knowles, Relish Socks and The Pico Brand to fill in the gaps.

Only 1 thing was missing…a female accomplice for one particular scene. You see, I set up the concept to involve Kenton as a working professional in the Downtown Nassau area. So the frames would consist of him in and around downtown, tagging his co-worker along the way. After we cast Katrina to play the role, local Boutique Chic Couture added specific looks for Kenton’s partner in crime.

2 and a half days of shooting, 1 damsel in distress, nearly 20 hours and 2000 frames later, this is perhaps the biggest shoot I’ve produced for the year. The team came together to kill (figuratively speaking) each set. A water ferry, scooter, closed streets, coffee shops and a trained beast all pieced together this smorgasbord of photography.

It was perfect.