Creating a Clothing Line: Editing Photo Shoot Pictures and Helping your Pockets

Waiting! This is what I hate. But waiting is good sometimes. It gives you a break from the rushing, the running! Right now I’m just trying to get all of the pictures done so that I am able to post them. Unfortunately, I still have to work L so this process might take longer than I want. I was going to give the pictures to this guy that is actually pretty dope. Even though I didn’t give him the pictures, I’m still going to mention his name. I went to school with him, AIU Atlanta, and his name is Reggie. I don’t know his instagram, or if he even has one, but his facebook name is Reginal Boone, D.N.A Elite Designs. The only reason I didn’t give him the pics to edit was simply because of budget… I AM CHEAP! Lol and I already spent a nice little check on the photo shoot, the clothes, and everybody that was involved or helped. One things’ for sure is that I PAY! Anyway, so I’m doing the pictures myself. I actually went on powerpoint, imported all of the pictures on there and took the background out. I then made an extra slide that only had the gray background and put the pictures in the order that I wanted them in. At this point, I was almost finished. There is this website that I used to use in school when we had projects and I wanted my work to look professional. This website is SOOOOO helpful. If you do not want to spend a lot of money and want things done within the same day, use the website Retouchup.com. There are different price ranges for what you want but the turn-around is incredible!! After I placed all pictures how I want them, I submit it to that website so they can do all my final airbrushing to make it look professional. They charge $2.50 a photo. So I went from going to spend $200 to have someone else do it to only $20-$30 if I did it myself. Yes, a big difference! Well that’s all I’m waiting for… Waiting for ME to get all of this done. Haha. And then submit them. I’m going to post an example of one of the pictures because I got one done and submitted it. I’ll post a before and after so you can see the difference of how they look. After that process is done, it’s all about setting up the website and getting ready for your marketing plan!

 

 

The picture above shows a darker picture and also has harsh lines in the middle of the picture in the background. There are also portions within the looks that I couldn't get the background out. Look on the floor in between her legs, you can see portions that I couldn't get out on my own. The last picture on the right also needed touching up. Her legs need to be smoothed out and her back as well.

 

This picture is lightened and fixed everything that I stated above. A good difference!

 

Retouchup.com

 

Thanks to them!

 

Creating a Clothing Line: Photo Shoot

I finally had the photo shoot! I didn’t have it the first week of August like I thought because we had to push it back a little bit. But it happened, none the less. I already showed you the sketches of the full line last time but I'm going to post them again!

 

Like I said in an earlier post, I did 2 lines… All Black Affaire and All White Affaire. We did the shoot on Saturday, April 9, call time at 1pm. Brittany and Freddie (the Make-up artist) came in town Friday night. I wanted to make sure I got the fit just right so the next morning we can put the clothes on and shoot. To my surprise… Almost everything fit!!! I didn’t have to do many alterations except to one dress.  I showed the make-up artist and hair stylist the look that I wanted implemented, we had a few laughs, a few drinks and we were on our way.

 

This is how I wanted the hair to look

 

This is how I wanted the make-up to look

 

The next morning we all met at my house. Everybody except the hair dresser, Phil. I wanted him to meet us at the studio because the humidity in Atlanta is a bit much sometimes. I didn’t want him to do her hair and then it fall or turn into an afro before we even got a chance to shoot. Freddie and Brit went downstairs in my office to do the make-up. I had a few last minute things to do so I was finishing that up. Tagging was all that was left.

On a photo shoot when there are several people involved, sometimes it can be a bit hectic. It works a lot smoother when you're organized, have help, and things written down. You, as the designer and stylist, cannot be everywhere at once. Having things written down help out the people around you. For instance, time is money. Sometimes photo shoots can be charged by the hour. If you are shooting one look, your helpers can be in the back getting the next look ready. As soon as the model comes into the changing room, they can hop out of one look and right into the next one. 

I usually set the looks up in order on the rack. I tie the hangers together with a rubber band and tag them. The tag has the sequence number on the front and the description of everything the look is supposed to be shot with. For example, get an index card and a sharpie. On the front of the index card, I put a number “1” if it is the first look you are going to shoot. On the back, I write down what the full look consists of. “Black top, black shawl, shredded short skirt, leggings, black leather booties, gold bracelet, gold ring, gold chandelier ear rings.” That’s just an example. I posted a picture of what the card would look like and how it looks on the rack.

 

 

This is how I organize a rack

 

This is how I tag them. I write the sequence number on each card and tag each look

 

 

This is how I tag them for my helper to know what to grab. If you have a great amount of jewelry, write specifics on what piece you are talking about

 

 

Now onto the PhotoShoot:

The hair dresser’s name is Phil. You can find him on Instagram with the name of “philbeautiful”. He did a great job on the hair and Freddie (Instagram: FreddieLYoung) did a wonderful job on the make-up. After she was prepped and put into her first look, I let Britt (Instagram: Kick_rox_) do her thing.

The shoot went great! The model was well seasoned and I really didn’t have to say much to get the look that I wanted for the pictures. By the way, always have an idea of what you want the pictures to look like. What I was going for was a picture I saw a LONG TIME AGO that Kim Kardashian did and I still had the screen shots in my phone. I think she did the shoot like 2 years ago. Try to make sure you have a visual of how you want everything so you can tell the model and photographer so that they are able to implement it. This is how I wanted my pictures to look when I post them to my website.

 

I like the way these pictures look because I can have all different views of the same outfit on one shot

(Side view, Back view, Front Views)

I’m also going to post a short video below to get a sneak peak of what the pictures look like. I will post everything else as soon as all of the pictures are done being edited and the website is up. But for now, this is all I can give!

When the shoot was finally over I was SO EXHAUSTED! Making all of this happen is a great deal of work. Writing about it doesn't make it sound like it's a lot but imagine staring from complete scratch and making something completely amazing out of it. It's never an easy thing. We all decided to go out to eat afterwards at Longhorn... Which was GREAT! I love that place! I was so full that when I made it home by 9:30 I went right to sleep till 6 in the morning! I hope this post helps out the organization much better for your shoot! Ugh! The struggle of being organized! haha

 

 

There was so much food on this table after a while we couldn't fit anything on it. We were telling them to slow down with all of these plates! lol Feast fit for a King and Queen!!

 

Good Luck My Loves!

 

Creating A Clothing Line: Final Drawing Sketches

I'm only posting right now to show you all my full line that I am going to shoot. I was supposed to post it a while ago, but you all know it gets pretty hectic in this fashion world! I actually had a hard time designing because I was so diluted with this Atlanta Fashion that I couldn't get away from it. Don't get me wrong, I love Atlanta. I just don't love the fact that people are so influenced by the next person. I'm from up north and it's just such a big difference. You do what you want when it comes to fashion. There are a select few people that have their own style down here and own it but not many. You can walk the streets of New York and you will see SO many different styles and flavor. I love it! I stayed off social networks in order to get these looks! So check them out! Trying to be original...ugh the struggle

Creating a Clothing Line: Start Production Part 1

Yes! I am finally done all of these sketches! I’m not going to show you just yet though. I’m definitely very proud of the line though. It’s different than what I constantly see online with these Atlanta boutiques. So I’m going to give it a try. I already set up the photo shoot, the model, the hair dresser and the Make-up artist. I have this model named Brittany Dorm. She’s very good! I decided to choose her because we came from the same home city. I’m from York, Pennsylvania if you didn’t know J I’m starting out and since I know a lot of people, I want to involve her as well and maybe give her a start.

When starting production make sure to schedule the photo shoot. I like to schedule everything before hand so then I have a deadline. If you don't have a deadline, sometimes you can just keep pushing it off for later dates. Years can go buy and you're still making excuses as to why you can't do it now. Everything is scheduled on the first of August so I will definitely keep you posted. From now until then, I’m going to be stuck in the dungeon sewing my life away! Good luck everybody!

Creating a Clothing Line: Struggling Ideas

So I think I’m done my inspiration board. I say “I think” because sometimes I find new things that inspire me and I add that to the board. Make sure to put the board up where you can see it constantly.

                Now it’s time to design!!! This is the third best part of this whole process. The second best part is making the clothes (or getting the clothing made if you don’t sew); and the best part about the process is seeing your creations being worn! You know I can’t wait for that part.

The only problem I am having is that I have so many different ideas! Ugh!! The struggle is real! I already have a photo shoot scheduled so I definitely need to get on the ball.  

I thought 5 outfits for this mini line would do but I drew down like 20 designs. I also incorporated old designs that didn’t get all the exposure I felt it deserved. So I think I have an idea… I’m going to do 2 lines!

When I tell people the name of my line, sometimes they act like “aw Tasia, why do you always have to be a little freak?” lol but that’s not it at all. Again, I’ve always been known as the party girl so when I googled “party” a synonym for it is “affair.” I thought it would be cool since I always see flyers with “affair” on it anyway. So I’m going to come out with an “All white Affaire” and an “All Black Affaire” Line.  I’m eager to get the outfits out but I need to focus first! I’ve been gone a while doing a lot of custom work behind the scene and I have to come out with a bang. So I’m going to give them one… Here it goes!!!

Here are a few of the designs that I thought of... Don't forget to show me some of your work as well!

Making an Inspiration Board for your Fashion Line

In order for me to get started on my own project, I have to finish the last bit of projects I have going on. When I first moved down here (Atlanta that is, AYE!) I met a guy in school. A gay guy. (I love gay guys!!) OMG me and Sean argued so bad in class because he thought he was the shit! haha. Anyway, we would go back and forth on whose projects were better. After realizing we had a lot in common, we actually became very close. Even though we cuss each other out every chance we get, it’s really only just passion for our craft that does it. The only reason I mention him is because me and him work together. So you'll hear about him much more. I have my clients that come in and he has his. For his clients that he brings me; he'll design, and I'll sew. So my last 3 projects are one coming from him and 2 coming from me. Let me knock them out the way before we REALLY get started

 I'm going to do my line all while I am doing for his clients as well. I hope it's not too much but we'll see. It doesn't hurt to try.

I bought this book about two years ago called "How to Open and Operate a Financially Successful Fashion Design Business" by Janet Engle. It's actually a really good book to read. It helps you every step of the way and also has a CD-Rom that comes with it. She gives you all of the steps. You just have to stick with them. You will learn that I am a bargain shopper. I get it from my dad and I usually don’t like to pay full price for much if I can find it cheaper online. So no, I didn’t pay the full price for this book. I think it’s actually about $60. I only paid $10 on Amazon.com. I mentioned this book because it helped me a lot. All the mistakes I made the first time was also a big help in knowing what NOT to do!

Remember we’re supposed to struggle to the top together?? So let’s struggle!

                First we need to come up with a line which is basically your niche in this market. What you want to do the most. Since I already started my business a while ago and kind of "gave up" on it. I already have a name. It's Affaire Clothing. Affaire, coming from the word "Affair." Not meaning a cheater! Lol, get your mind out of the gutter! But I used to party soooo much. Not as much as I want to anymore, but that might change soon. When I went to think of a name for my company, I just googled the word "party"... and 'affair' came up. You know you always see "All Black Affair" or "Grown and Sexy Affair." Well when I went to buy the name "Affair Clothing" catering to all of the party girls with sexy dresses and jumpsuits, the name had too much going on. So I just added an "E" so there wouldn't be much conflict and purchased that.

Now it's time to get some inspiration.

This could take a long time depending on if you don't already have ideas. Some people don’t get their complete collection just right for months, even years. So keep looking until you are completely inspired. Go to magazines, online forums, and recent trends to get ideas if you are looking for them.

Get a board and take all findings that inspire you and lay them on the board. Don't attach just yet!! Figure out a theme. Whether it's with colors, shapes, buildings, words... WHO CARES! Let it inspire you. It's a process of elimination. When you do start attaching pieces to the board, make sure your board makes sense.

This is our Inspiration Board!

Here are a few examples below

 

The Beginning of The Struggle

Sometimes I hate the way life is going. I kind of did all of the goals I set out to do on the journey of growing up, but when all of that is done and you have all that you need in order to make your dreams happen, where do you start? I struggled with that daily. Where to start? How to start? Where is this money going to come from? Hmmmmm. Yea, maybe I think too much but then again, I'm a Virgo. Don't judge me! Lol.

After school and traveling, life started, of course. But I guess I just wasn't ready for it. Or maybe I just wasn't prepared for how REAL it is when it does start. Anywho, it's here now. So instead of me spending so much time designing clothes, embellishing shoes, looking for new customers on the internet, and surfing the wholesale websites to keep adding things to my Ebay store, I decided to stop all of that... And get a job.

I know, I know. That isn't the American dream right?! But hey, I spent so much time AND MONEY following my dreams that it actually put me in a little financial problem. Starting my Ebay store meant inventory. Making a clothing line meant making samples which meant buying fabric, muslin, paper for patterns, thread, notions, sketching paper, markers, pencils. Shooting these looks meant photo shoots, make-up artists, hair dresser... This "hobby" isn't cheap. Yes I have made a good bit along the way. But when I would get paid, I wouldn't use the money to pay off my credit card bills. I would use it towards the next project. Hoping to get bigger and bigger and receiving more clients as a reward for my hard work. I just want you to know that this business is ugly. I'm talking about hideous. I have gone through MANY trials and tribulations that have almost made me give up. They would put me in a bit of a set back because I would be feeling so discouraged and beat down. But fuck it! What worth having comes easy??

With all of that being said, I'm tired of working. Yes I went to school and have degree(s), yes that’s plural. But honestly they don't mean anything to me. I'm sorry readers; I know you didn't want to hear that. Don't get me wrong, I like school. It was never hard for me. I kind of just went and whatever happened, happened. It just so happened that it always turned out good. I really only did it for my parents, and just to say that I did. But I honestly don't care much about it at all. I don't want to work for absolutely anybody but myself. And although the information in the classroom helped some, it really isn't any different from when I am stumped on something and then I Google it or you tube it. I probably could have googled or you tubed everything I learned in school and saved almost $50,000. Oh well, can't think about it now.

From now on, I'm not going to work just to pay bills. I work so much in order to live the life I want and pay the bills I've accumulated and ummm... I’m not for that anymore. I graduated from school 2 years ago and it only took me a year and a half to realize that. I'm going to keep my job, of course. The benefits are good! haha. And where else is this investment money going to come from? I'm going to put myself on a serious struggle. Saving every bit of money I can to put it towards the business. And of course I'm going to tell you every step of the way. Hell, maybe you can help me through it. Struggle with me the whole way to the top. Who wants to be alone anyway??

...Let’s get started!