Season 10 from Bahari photographed by Scharad Lightbourne
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 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
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 Lightbourne
MUA: Makeup by Sarsha Lepeche
Grips: Gary Martin, Martin Gray // Video: Ashley Whitney
SEE COURTNEY IN MOTION
Braneka Bassett photographs with Bahamian photographer Scharad Lightbourne
Braneka Bassett, a former Miss Bahamas was flying into Nassau and contacted me asking if I wanted to shoot. Braneka, being local to LA, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to work together. We had tried so many times to collaborate but due to equally busy schedules, we never got the chance until now.
"Sure!" was my response of course and I spoke to Braneka about what type of look we could shoot because we only had a few hours with her! She even had a location secured before flying in and she told me that I'd love it; a house on Lake Cunningham.
With literally an hour before sunset, an incredible suit from Beach Bunny Swimwear, and a few simple Aldo accessories, the team and I captured Braneka doing what she does best and effortlessly at that! We got great frames and everyone was excited to shoot with this Bahamian beauty.
Photography + Styling: Scharad Lightbourne
MUA: Antonya Jenoure // Hair: Kelly Pinder
Grips: Malik Smith + Kenzi Thompson + Tariq Cartwright
WATCH THE FILM BELOW
Filmed by Tony Williams, Directed by Scharad Lightbourne
"Market Value" Editorial photographed in Kensington Market, Toronto
While I was in Toronto earlier this year, I planned to shoot something, anything, anywhere in the city. The city is a breeding ground for creative ideas especially photography and on my 2nd trip there in 3 years, there was no question that I'd want to shoot in the Kensington Market area.
I called stylist Aziza Brown who immediately agreed to work with me again and when I told her where I wanted to shoot, she instantly came up with the style direction for the clothing. We just needed to put a team together and with the help of MORGAN Model Management, we sourced unique and diverse talents for the shoot. The final piece of the puzzle was MUA (makeup artist) Senita Rodrigues whose work I admired for awhile and I contacted her to work together and she was friendly and very open to my ideas.
On shoot day, we started about 8am that morning, using a parking garage as HQ, yes a parking garage! It was central to everything and we had covering so we made it work. The models were troopers changing in and out of looks and I actually scouted the market from high above.
Kensington was an incredible area, bustling with people, vendors, sights and sounds who all seemingly ignored the fact that I was photographing two unique and diverse models in the street, against doorways, in between stalls and up against walls. I was everywhere and loving the energy the market seemed to throw right back at me.
Check out the gallery below.
Photographer: Scharad Lightbourne
MUA: Senita Rodrigues
Stylist: Aziza Brown
Clothing Designer: Print Vintage
Shoe Retailer: Heel Boy
Models: Shakhira & Nadia Blackwood
Bahamian pop artist Keeya shoots new visuals for "Hella Good" single
Keeya and her team met with me a few weeks back communicating that they needed "sexy, fun and hype" images for the artist's new single titled "Hella' Good." We were sitting in Starbucks and upon hearing the song, I was amped and ready to go! I loved the track, especially the lyrics and immediately, I began to visualize the images in my head.
Her energy and artsy demeanor meant that I'd have a creative range with the set and images, plus knowing I'd work with my good friend and stylist, Lavonne Alexis of ShoptheCC meant that the wardrobe would be pin-point creative!
Popop Studios, Nassau, The Bahamas, was the perfect canvas to which we'd shoot Keeya and using props like inflatable flamingos (Luxury Floats Bahamas), tea party sets (The Tea Room) and a simple mattress meant that we'd have a storyboard fitting to the song lyrics. Keeya's edgy look only added to each frame and with a monster team, we banged out look after look like it were frames from an action movie.
WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO!
LISTEN TO "HELLA GOOD" by KEEYA
Bahari Spring 2016 Campaign
With the rise of this local clothing giant, Bahari Bahamas Ltd releases their 2016 Spring Campaign. The campaign was shot in Nassau, The Bahamas at The Cliffs. With the talents of Miss Bahamas Universe 15/16 Toria Penn and male model Endierich Rahming, the bright and bold styles of their pieces strike lightning again!
I had the opportunity to preview the pieces for the spring collection before hand and I immediately got excited because every collection, the company seemed to improve tenfold from the last. My team was equally excited and impressed on shoot day agreeing that in fact, to date, this collection has been Bahari's strongest.
The set was alive with great electric energy from our team and models. We had our home base blasting music like we were in the club and with charismatic chatter, strong models and a hype crew, we rocketed through the looks shooting frame after frame with unbelievable precision shouting out ecstatically once achieving that "money" shot.
Photography + Creative Direction: Scharad Lightbourne
MUA: Ts Artistry
Hair: Yonarda Beneby
Styling: The Style Diaries
Models: Toria Penn, Endierich Rahming
Grips: Aaron Davis, Malik Smith