Showcase | The Tee-Pee

When photographer Nicole Mitchem submitted some of her beautiful work to Reverie, it was this session that caught my eye. I’m sure you can see why — uhm, gorgeous!

Please join me as I chat with Nicole about her shoot below.

skye | What was the inspiration behind this shoot?

A client told me about a giant teepee she thought I would like for an editorial shoot. Boy, was she right! As soon as I saw it the inspiration juices started flowing. I wanted to show a fashion forward editorial with Native American influences, but it was important it not be “costumey”.

skye | Did you final result stay too far from your initial vision?

No, I can’t say the final result is far from my vision. However, anytime I shoot I always have a loose vision in my mind because I work best when I let things come together on set. What I’m trying to say is I had hoped the pictures would reflect something amazing, but I didn’t know exactly what that would be until I actually was in the moment shooting. I am thrilled with the final result.

skye | I love the indoor lighting inside the tent — seemed like a giant “softbox” to diffuse the light. Any thoughts on this?

The lighting in the tent is what sold me. As soon as I walked in I was in love. Being a natural light photographer, good quality light is kind of my world and that light is some of the most flattering I’ve worked with – ever. One of my team members and I made mention that it was like being in a giant softbox.

skye | Thinking back to when you first started as a photographer, how do you feel about how your style has evolved over the years? Are you were you hoped/thought you would be?

When I first started and where I am now are worlds apart. I feel much more creative and skilled now. I miss film’s richness deeply, but I love the digital advantages. I am still an old school shooter at heart. I was away from shooting for about seven years and literally fell back into it two years ago by mistake. I had no idea my business would take off so quickly and am ever so thankful it did.

skye | How do you replenish your creativity?

Replenishing my creativity is vitally important. Becaus I shoot five days per week for agency represented models I see a lot of people. I am a nut about providing original locations and images to my clients because I can’t bear the thought of my work circulating around and people having the same comp cards. That mentality lends itself to a lot of stress in finding new locations to shoot. I am 100 percent of the time looking for new shooting spots with good light. When I find a new spot, I am instantly inspired.

skye | The clothes are an important part in pulling off the feel for this type of session. How did you choose the wardrobe?

For this shoot I made some of the clothes and accessories and then shopped for the rest. I wanted to show fashion and fun within a storybook setting. I hopped and looked around a lot. The props and pelts were provided mostly by the tent’s owner who has some amazing authentic Native American pieces.

skye | How were the models chosen for this project?

I chose models I had shot before as well as a few new faces. It was about the look, diversity, spirit and their ability to take directions from me. I needed more editorial faces and kids with big expressive eyes to convey my feeling. These kids were amazing; they all did so well for me. It was 95 degrees inside that tent. On a side note, some of the models are siblings.