I’m moving into a new apartment this weekend. Moving usually causes a mixture of excitement, anxiety and stress, but I’ve found solace in virtual window shopping. For the past few weeks, I’ve spent countless hours on my computer, iPad and phone browsing furniture and design shops for ideas and inspiration. So when Vancouver-based photographer Raeff Miles’ fantastic rep, Nancy Grant, reached out with his latest catalog shoot for Urban Barn I couldn’t resist picking it up for a blog post.
Urban Barn is a contemporary furniture store with locations across Canada. Their furnishings are the embodiment of “cool,” and Raeff’s photos bring their casual, youthful vibe to life. Raeff got the assignment after an old client reconnected when she took on a new position within Urban Barn. Raeff originally shot the images for a brochure, but when that was a success they decided to use them for a catalog, as well.
The project was a great fit for Raeff’s style. He prides himself on making bright, fresh images with lots of daylight. Luckily, the Urban Barn designers and clients were all on the same page. After determining the feel and the direction for the shoot, the client scouting began.
What we couldn’t find on location we had to build in the studio. The studio is always a last resort, since the cost of building architectural features is high and natural lighting on location is hard to beat. This is a home furnishing company so everything in the shot is their product. That meant there was a huge amount of product to move to locations as we needed options for everything. We needed a big team to make it happen.
Raeff and his team were surprised at how many “awesome spaces” came to them after putting out feelers for the shoot. He shoots frequently for this client, so they are always looking for new locations. Throughout the duration of the shoot, Raeff was reminded of a valuable lesson regarding preproduction:
Planning is everything. The more organized we are going into the shoot the more energy I can devote the pushing the creative vision for the shoot.
See more from Raeff Miles on his website, raeffmilesphoto.com.