Photographing J.Stark, Pt. I
Reflecting on the photos we've made from 2017-2020.
In 2017, I approached Erik, the founder of J.Stark, about buying a wallet for my husband, Chris.
Chris and I had just gotten married in December 2016. And, partly because I wanted to see what J.Stark was about, partly to supply Chris with a grown-up wallet, I visited the studio where Erik was making his leather goods + bags.
Quick note: in 2017, I was very hungry for photography work. I’d been out of college for 2 years, and was making a meager amount photographing for editorial clients and cleaning houses. By the time Chris and I were paying rent, feeding ourselves, and spending time with friends, we knew we had to make more money in order to continue doing all of those things. I also knew that I wanted to become independent with photography. So, both in an effort to support ourselves, and pursue my creative goals, I set out to find people I could make photos for in Charleston.
In the spring of 2017, Chris was heading out to do his jobs - production at a music venue, oystering, and bartending - and I was sending out cold emails to every person I could think of who might want pictures. For a week I did this. 60 emails all told. Most were left on “read”, some returned with a “we do not have a need for your services at this time”, but two came back with a “yes, let’s make something”.
One of those replies was Erik.
Since we’d already met, and he knew I supported his craft, he was down to work with me. He loaned me two wine totes and I went off to make something with them. Here’s what we got:
Erik loved the images we got. Still, I learned it’s its own thing to come alongside a young business and help them deliver the most immediate need - which isn’t always the glamorous stuff. Erik needed e-commerce imagery for the J.Stark website more than he needed lifestyle photos. So I set aside my big commercial photoshoot ideas, and learned how to photograph J.Stark pieces for e-comm.
We made hundreds of images like these:
At this point, I was still stoked to be the one making these photos. I got to know that my hands played a part in showcasing these products to the world, and that felt very cool. I found other creative outlets with wedding photography and working with a few other local brands, which all kept me thinking + experimenting in the right direction.
And after a couple seasons of making e-comm photos, J.Stark really started to grow! I started to see my friends carry J.Stark bags around, and notice strangers in town with them. All the while I would poke Erik about letting me take the bags out and photograph them in “real-life”.
We set our sights on a date, recruited those aforementioned friends who were rep-ing the bags, and made these photos:
I KNOOOW, we forgot to steam the backdrop (life lesson: always steam the backdrop!)… but REALLY? WHO CARES?! The images are fun to look at.
That shoot got the ball rolling. Once we saw the bags with people, it was easy to imagine a lifestyle photoshoot coming together.
The next vision: Napoleon Dynamite x Pickle-ball. I pitched the idea to Erik and Jess (Jess is Erik’s partner who, by then, was managing the business alongside Erik), and they were down to let me run with it.
My friend Ben styled + cast this shoot with me in February of 2020…
I still love everything about this shoot. We shot it on film. Chris and my friend Janette assisted me on the day-of. Below, my mood board + “treatment”:
I think about this shoot often. How was it so perfect? We just walked onto the neighborhood tennis court on a gentle-kiss-of-cloud-cover day, tossed the bags into the scene, and came away with effortlessly beautiful images.
If I knew exactly how to get there every time, I would.
I shot for the biggest client I’ve ever photographed for 2 months ago, and it took 52 people to make that shoot look beautiful and “authentic”. We did it, but it’s amazing to me, to also carry around the knowledge of the Pickle-ball shoot. For every creative, I feel like there exists that one job - where things come together so magically and effortlessly that you couldn’t recreate it the same way no matter how you tried. These projects give you something to search for amidst the noise of the “big jobs” which is why I’m so grateful to this one for coming together the way it did.
This is PART I of II - continue the J.Stark journey with me in my next post!