Fish Creek Photoshoot

In The Wild

Styling: Tracey Quo

Photography: Ian Harding

Model: Rayna McKay

My concept for this shoot was to use very soft and wearable garments in a peaceful and picturesque environment. All the clothing had a toned down bohemian vibe and included a fair amount of silk. I had an image in my head of various Greek myths that included nymphs lounging around bodies of water. In Greek mythology nymphs are all nature spirits that appear as beautiful seductive women and can cause various metamorphoses (transformations of shape, usually into plants and animals). They are typically huge teases that torment the gods like Apollo, but they also inspire beautiful poetry and songs. I think Rayna definitely captures that innocent yet devilish motif here.

Ian Harding the photographer for this shoot did an amazing job bringing all the pictures to life. I have never taken a second glance at grass in a photo before, but I definitely do in these shots! You would never know it looking at these photos, but Rayna was eaten alive at this shoot. She emerged looking like a 5 year old with a terrible case of smallpox covered head to toe in bites when we were done. We also got her to lay down on large rocks in very cold water and change into the nude often on a rather public nature trail. Modelling isn't quite as glamorous as it appears so a big thank-you to both Rayna and Ian for their hard work and helping me build my portfolio!

I actually met Ian two hours after I was laid off from my job as a recruiter. It was Alberta Fashion Week (AFW) and I was attending the runway shows that evening so I cabbed from work with all my stuff (a collection of work pumps, my sacred peanut butter I snacked on between e-mails, tooth brushes/paste, weird desk paraphanelia etc...) in my synthetic leather leggings and headed straight to a friends house to down a couple vodka-waters and head to AFW. Within those two hours I somehow came to the conclusion that I should pursue a career in the fashion industry, so I asked Ian for his business card and two months later we hooked up for this wicked shoot (Ian is a photographer for AFW). I think that's what people are referring to when they tell you to take lemons and make lemonade :)

You can check out Ian Harding's work at http://www.ianharding.ca/ and if you wish to contact Rayna McKay you can add/message her on Facebook: facebook.com/rayna.mckay

p.s please click on the photos to view them in a larger size!