The Project

This 1920s women empowerment project was an absolute dream, literally. Many of my ideas came to me in my sleep. I would wake up and jot them down in the notes app. One night I had a dream that this project turned out exactly how I planned. It was a sign that I needed-- on shoot day, I was cool, calm, and collected...mostly.

I spent almost a year brewing this project in the back of my mind. When it came to finally executing it, I had to curate my vision. I wanted to shoot all of my inspiration, but that was not realistic. After narrowing it down to a few ideas, based on the locations within the venue, I still struggled to tie it all together. Then, I heard a song “ I am Woman” by Emmy Meli. The song describes many traits of a woman: confident, fearless, feminine, masculine, sexy, creative, divine, etc. A light bulb went off. I used these traits to give the women a character and backstory. Example the lyric: “Honey, you can get in line” was inspiration for the bank scene. I told the model “You are at the bank [in the 1920’s]. You are independent and you have your own money. Look back at us like, get in line.”

After this shoot, I had such a natural high from being able to create and execute my vision. I absolutely love how the final images turned out. They are better than I ever expected, or could dream. This is the largest project that I have ever done. Thanks to the Sony Alpha Female Grant, I feel like I have truly unlocked new potential and photography skills. It was my first shoot of 2022 and I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off this year.

BTS of Alpha Female+ grant winner Tori Wright 

The Process

The location for the shoot is a wedding venue. It is usually decorated and customized for events so on off days it is pretty bare. Thankfully I scouted it out week 1 so that I could determine a game plan for the sets: stage a bar, spruce up a cigar room, and make a glam powder room. I basically moved in with three car loads of props and equipment.

There was actually a lot of natural light in the venue, but I knew I wanted the images to be a bit more moody. That required using strobes. I used the same lighting technique as a way to maintain consistency between the images: feathered light from high above and an occasional fill light with a gel. When I got into the editing process, I punched up the color to create a more dynamic set of images, and also to reflect my colorful style.

Since this project was emphasizing women, I handpicked an all woman team, plus Kevin the BTS videographer. Normally I’m the kind of person who tries to do everything themselves, so it was a growing experience for me to delegate some of the tasks. It was very helpful helped to be surrounded by fellow photographer and model friends that I could trust. It was also a great way for me to include my friends in this amazing opportunity.

Obstacles

The biggest obstacle that I had to overcome was the upcoming holidays combined with a shoot date the first week of January. I started online shopping for wardrobe and props immediately because I knew shipping during the holiday season would be a nightmare. I really stressed over if the items would arrive in time, especially one of the handmade robes that was coming all the way from Poland. Almost everything arrived and I was able to supplement wardrobe by thrifting and renting from local vintage shops.

One of the things that I wanted but could not get in time for the shoot was a backdrop for one of the sets. This time the holidays benefited me because I had the time off to paint a backdrop myself. I’m not a pro, but it turned out pretty decent. You can find it in the red images behind the couch.

Just before the shoot date, the wave of Omicron hit. I tried to limit interactions over the holidays to ensure that I could keep my shoot date. However, I did have two teammates call in the morning of the shoot. Thankfully, they were professionals who helped me find last minute replacements.

Camera & Settings

Cameras

Sony Alpha 7 III 
Sony Alpha 6400 BTS
Sony Alpha 7S III (Kevin video)

Lens

Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master

Settings

F/4.5
1/250-sec with flash
ISO 500

Lighting

Flashpoint/Godox AD600 Pro
32 inch octabox

Flashpoint/Godox AD200
bounced with colored gels

Credits

Photographer & Creative Director

Tori Wright
@victoriousstl
victoriousstl.com

Models

Hanno Riak @h_riak
Tara Luhning @taraluhning
Sydney Fischer @sydneytfischer

Assistants

Maddie Kamp @maddieekamp
Niah @niahrosephoto
Leannie @leannielens

Styling Assistant

Danielle @aestheticallyobsessedstl

Makeup

Alison Silvagnoli @aliceinsaks5thavenue

Hair

Elin Asvaldsdottir @makeupbyelin31

Video Recap

Kevin Pohle @kevinpohle

Location

The Noble @thenoblestl

You can be a part of our Alpha Female community. Join our Facebook group HERE and follow us on Instagram HERE.

You can apply for an Alpha Female+ grant HERE along with all of the details of the Alpha Female+ program. You can see all the past grant winners and their projects HERE.