Nau speak: Behind the Scenes: Late March Tie-dye Photoshoot

While we can (and often do) spend an exorbitant amount of our free time making tie-dye for fun, we ultimately end up selling the majority of our creations as 710Visuals. As much as we love making them, there's just no feasible way for us to make full use of all the shirts (dresses, shorts, skirts, or bags) that we make, especially since we make items in sizes that we probably wouldn't be able to wear on a consistent basis. It makes more sense, logistically and creatively, for us to sell them... sometimes it's hard, you know, like sending a puppy you love off to a different home with a new family. You can't be certain of what the future will hold for that beloved little thing, but you have to hope for the best and send them off with a kiss and maybe, just maybe, a tear in the corner of your eye. Luckily we've had pretty positive reactions from our customers so far, and the more shirts we send off to their future homes the more customers will put their faith into us. I know I tend to be more trusting in shops with more sales and higher ratings, don't you?

The practical side of this need to send our shirts off to new homes is that we ultimately need to make time and arrangements to photograph them and try to do so in a favorable way (to show their best sides, naturally) so that they have the best shot at finding the right home. This has been a long and varied process over the years with a lot of ups and downs involved. There were mannequins, many amicable friends kindly aiding us by serving as models for us between conversation and fun with payments of food, and some silly outtakes... sometimes the outtakes make it into the actual product listing on Etsy or our website because they're just too fabulous (or funny) to not include! Besides, it helps show a glimpse of our personalities, too, which I think is a good thing. I know I tend to appreciate when the companies I choose to purchase from coming off as personable, approachable as if there are actual human beings involved in the process. It's nice to know I'm sending my hard earned money off to someone real, and it's even better if you dig the person's vibe. So hopefully, some of the good vibes we (purportedly) give off in person can be captured by a photograph. But photography is an art, and we're definitely still learning and finding our groove.

On top of having to model the shirts and try not to look like a couple of awkward goofballs, there's lighting, location, framing, and color-key to consider. I never want to edit the photos too much, but I want the colors to be bright, vivid and true-to-life...which can be quite challenging in some situations. We tried shooting in our studio, which is a pretty limited space and had mixed results.