Being in Sydney and planning a safari themed fashion shoot is quite difficult. Where could we find such a backdrop in Australia’s largest city. The closest savanna is on the other side of the country. We contacted some glamping sites around Sydney and the surrounding rural areas to seek a location to shoot at but received no response. So how to achieve a safari look without having access to a landscape that looks like a safari ? Easy, Lightroom and photoshop.
So now we just need a location that we can edit to appear as the African savanna. And luckily for us we live 2 hours to the stunning Hunter Valley Wine Region. A gorgeous area full in vineyards and surrounded by rolling hills. So we packed the car and off we went on a photographic road trip.
The weather was amazing, bright sun shine and 33C with no wind to mess up hair. We found our first location near a stunning Spanish inspired winery. Some small pine trees lining a pond with an old bare tree standing beside it. The ground was lush green grass so a little bit of Lightroom changed the entire scene to a beautiful yellow grassland and tied the entire image we were going for together. The first shoot went well and was over rather quickly. The outfit looked amazing on Alona and the backdrop was perfect.
Our next location was an amazing find. Literally the opposite side of the road from the first location. I mean it was about 20 metres away. A gorgeous timber fence with leafy shrubs on one side. It matched perfectly with the outfit Alona was wearing. The scene was a play on a 1940’s explorer resting on the fence of a horse ranch. What we were trying to achieve we managed to get very close. I was very happy with this shoot.
We had now been shooting for multiple hours in 33C heat and feeling quite parched. We decided to drive to a cafe and get some cold water, unfortunately it was a Sunday and it was 6pm and nothing is open at this time on a Sunday in small towns. This was not ideal and sunburn was starting to set in. We found our next location on the way to the shops. A gorgeous spot next to a lake, littering with beautiful little shrubs that gave off an African vibe. We set up a chair as a prop and started shooting. The story of this shoot was a fashion inspired attitude style. During this shoot I captured my favourite photo I have ever taken of Alona, a close up portrait of her face with a large straw hat framing her face and casting a shadow over one of her eyes.
The final shoot was at the same location around 50 metres from the previous. A beautiful leopard print dress by Mila Designs. We shot this during a setting sun and captured some stunning golden light. Sitting among the bushes created some really good shots and tied the entire look together superbly. As the sun finally set we packed up and started the 2 hour drive home. An 11 hour adventure draw to an end.