Behind The Scenes: Amazon The Drop Photoshoot

As we get closer to my launch, I’m sharing a behind the scenes look into what went into my Amazon The Drop photoshoot. In case you’ve missed my previous posts about The Drop collection, you can read this post or watch my story highlight. Today’s post is all about how I prepared for the shoot, in case you’re curious what goes into a shoot day. As a content creator, I take pictures usually once a week but this one was extra special.

If you’ve been following this journey, you know that after a few months of designing, I received my samples from my collection a few weeks ago. I received 20 pieces and after long deliberation, narrowed it down with the Amazon team down to 10 pieces- one of the largest collections to date! My collection has 5 dresses, 3 tops and 2 bottoms - all everyday bra friendly (you can read more about it here).

style:

Once I figured out which pieces we were moving forward with, it was time to photograph! I synced up with my go-to-guy, Ryan Kell to discuss the mood board and vibe for the images. From there, I styled each outfit and look using my own clothing and items from The Staples collection (items available year-round). This took me almost an entire day to do because I tried everything on and photographed each option in order to decide, also sending to my friends to weigh in on their preferences! Once I decided everything, I wrote a master list of each item and the supporting elements to complete each look. This helped keep me stay organized, especially the day of the shoot. I also steamed everything to try to help reduce wrinkles and minimize post-production editing.

Here are the photos I took for styling purposes, I had no intention of ever sharing these but thought it’d be fun to show! Don’t mind Walter’s dog food container in the background. 😬 Here are a few of the items that I used to style that are available now, in case you’re interested. The blue skirt, pink top and blue dress are all a part of my collection, coming soon!

glam:

Once I had everything figured out, I was able relax (a little bit) and focus on my glam! NY was still in Phase 2 of re-opening at the time so nail salons were closed and didn’t feel comfortable working with a glam team so I had to take matters into my own hands. I’ve gotten pretty good at doing my own hair and makeup (when I have to) but can’t say I really enjoy it, especially when I have to! So much pressure- but I managed. 😉 For nails, I used the KISS ImPress False Press-On Nails - they got me through quarantine feeling like myself (pre-COVID I got my nails done every 3 weeks, it is my favorite luxury) and they’re fool proof to use in a pinch.

For my face, I used my favorite special occasion mask the morning of, the CO2 LIFT, for an extra glow. I channeled my wedding day makeup by Rosa Barney similar to the technique shown here and here! I also did my everyday dirty waves, shown here! Here is a before & after of the final look:

shoot:

I don’t know why but I woke up so nervous for this shoot! I’ve been modeling for ten years but this just felt different. The tags have my name on them! It definitely all feels so surreal.

Brian helped me pack up our two cars, I used the back of his truck for a clothing rack + changing room thanks to this genius invention! If you’re a blogger or find yourself with lots of clothes in your car, this car rack is a MUST. I picked up Ryan and we started at our first location in downtown Buffalo. Brian was in charge of the shot list (we have a pretty extensive list of image requirements that we need to deliver to the Amazon team), styling notes and BTS pictures. We also drove around with a full length mirror so that I could make sure everything looked okay before we started shooting. Here are some of Brian’s finest photos and never before seen items, here’s to hoping the final images turn out better. 🥴

We managed to shoot all ten looks that day and videos of each. It was tiring but such a great day, finished the day with my favorite La Nova pizza and wine! We’re finalizing the selects this week and will be sharing more shortly- stay tuned for next week, I’ll be showing a glimpse of more items from the collection and how to style. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for SMS text notifications by following the link on your mobile device here so you get notified once the collection drops! Feel free to leave any other questions below. I hope you enjoyed this BTS story, thanks for coming through this journey with me.

xx CMK

DREAM TEAM: Ryan Kell, Brian Koch + Caralyn Mirand Koch