What's the hardest thing to shoot in fashion?

Swimwear. There's nowhere for a bad fit to hide

A luxury swimwear label wanted the full set in one day, fifteen swimsuit variations for the e-commerce site plus a short video with hair moving in the wind, outdoors, by a pool, with trees

I produced and directed it and shot the photography too

The brand picked its own models, I handled the rest, the location, the lighting plan, the crew, the schedule, the edit

The estate, the pool, the old convertible

We set up at a private estate, long pool, white villa walls, and a vintage white convertible parked like it owned the place

Daylight plus strobes, a full kit, because the sun gives you the mood and the strobes give you the color of the fabric

The suits have jeweled crosses, stones, prints, and on camera all of that turns into glare or mush if you light it wrong

Why does that matter so much? because if the color online isn't the color in the box, the suit comes back, and in swimwear returns kill the margin fast

Close first, then the world

Here is the deal, a thirty second swimwear commercial has about three seconds to sell the suit, so the film opens tight. The print, the crystals, the cut at the hip

Then it opens up to the pool and the car, a straw hat, gold earrings, so you know this is not a beach towel suit

A little color fringe effect and quick cuts, made for social media first and the website hero second

Why one day and not two

Did the brand need a separate video day? no

Models, location, hair and makeup are the cost, not the camera, so we shot the stills and the motion back to back and the brand paid for the day once

Fifteen variations means fifteen changes, so the schedule matters more than the light. Hair and makeup touch ups between suits, the next suit steamed and waiting, the motion shots slotted in while the sun was right for them

The producer behind the lens

When the person producing is the person looking through the camera, a strap twisted at the shoulder or a hair stuck to her cheek gets fixed in the frame, right then

Swimwear is my home turf, see the photos in the Swimwear Lingerie gallery

Swimwear, sold in thirty seconds

Length: 0 min 32 s · Producer & director: David Victory, VRSET video production, Los Angeles & Orange County

Key moments

  • 0:00 Jeweled swimsuit close-up
  • 0:04 Print detail
  • 0:09 Poolside walk
  • 0:17 White swimsuit and vintage convertible
  • 0:22 Straw hat and earrings
  • 0:25 Printed one-piece by the pool
  • 0:31 Logo

See the matching photography in the Swimwear Lingerie gallery.

More videos

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Planning a video or a fashion shoot? Contact David Victory or call (310) 988-6575 in Los Angeles, (949) 873-4551 in Orange County. Free consultation and quote for first-time clients.