Mark Fore Shoots for a Drop and Dickies Collaboration

This past winter, San Francisco-based photographer Mark Fore completed a shoot for a Drop and Dickies collaboration on Cramerton chinos, a limited release trouser with historic heritage. At the time of the shoot, Mark was the senior managing photographer for Drop, an e-commerce company based in San Francisco. The photographer sat down with the product design team from Dickies to brainstorm how to capture the iconic look.

We wanted to show the versatility of the pant from casual to preppy. The head of brand had a friend with a barber shop in Lower Haight that we could use as a location. From there, the shot list was born.

Cramerton chinos are unisex khakis made in the USA from Cramerton Army cloth, a dead stock fabric used to make military uniforms during World War II. In this collaboration, only 150 pairs of pants could be made due to the limited amount of fabric available. Beyond tapping into the historical aspect of the pants’ fabric, the photographer wanted to appeal to one of Dickies’ most loyal client bases, skaters.

Coming from a background where I used to shoot a lot of professional skaters, I knew the importance of this brand to that community and suggested we get a model that knew how to ride.

Mark’s idea to shoot a skater in chinos was met with some uneasiness from company executives. If the skater were to get hurt, not only would the shoot be ruined, there would be potential legal ramifications for Drop and Dickies. Mark was able to ease the executives’ worries by explaining that the model’s skating skills and the photographer’s own background shooting skaters would get the job done. 

It’s funny how much I had to fight to get the shot on the list. Our model was not only a competent skater, but he’s on flow for Adidas for skateboarding – he skates all day!

The photographer and crew spent the day shooting in the barber shop and on the street. Still, Mark felt pressure from the client to keep adding more shots.

As with any shoot where you’re putting enough money behind it, clients want to keep on adding more and more things into the shoot to try to milk as many shots as possible. Managing expectations and time limitations to accomplish your main goals is always key to any shoot.

By the end of the day, Mark’s photos had wooed the clients. Photos from this shoot have been used to promote Cramerton chinos on Drop’s site and social media.

Credits:

Models: Claudia Chaverra, Zachariah Ho-Seher
Stylist: Lionel Dulce, Lulu Artist Collective
Senior Product Manager, Drop: John Webb 
Head of Brand, Drop: Shannon Fernandez

Check out more of Mark’s work at markforephotography.com.

Check out our other great photographers on our Find Photographers page!