NYC Photo Shoot: Part 2

Note: This is the second of two entries on the myWallaby 2009 Launch Photo Shoot (see Part 1), which took place in Central Park and the Upper East Side of Manhattan in late May.  We’ve been meaning to post this entry for a while, but it seems we always got caught up in other things. However, we feel that it tells an important part of the myWallaby story, so we think it is better late than never.

Part 2: The Shoot

We knew from the beginning that we had to make the most of our photo shoot, not only because of the cost, but also because the pictures would serve as the face of our company and product. As such, we decided that we didn’t want to skimp on the photography. We ended up hiring a true New York City photographer — Stavros Panopoulos. If you’re looking for someone who has real artistic talent and is as comfortable on the streets as he is in the studio, Stavros is the right guy for you.

The day of the photo shoot turned out to be just perfect. Even though the local forecast predicted rain, the skies miraculously cleared up and the temperature was ideal (as we learned) — not too cold to make people uncomfortable, but also not too hot or muggy to affect the models’ hair.

While we had some ideas going into the shoot of the kinds of scenes we wanted to capture, we learned the importance of just going with the flow and recognizing opportunities as they presented themselves. For example, the picture of the girls sitting on the steps of a brownstone on the “my” Wallaby page was totally unplanned. What started out as an impromptu respite for the girls as they waited for lunch to arrive, ended up being a great photo opportunity, thanks to Stavros’ eye.

Another nice thing about the photo shoot was the reaction of passersby. We heard a lot of comments about how nice the bags looked and how we had to get them in this or that store. It was just the boost Myriam and I needed as we stared to enter the final stage of development. It made us feel like we had something that would be successful, especially since the feedback wasn’t given by family or friends, but rather by impartial strangers.

The day after the photo shoot we met at Stavros’ studio in the fashion district and shot for almost six hours. We were amazed at the attention to detail that was necessary to get every shot just right. Check out a few more of the behind the scene shots below. We hope it will give you a glimpse into the atmosphere surrounding what was a fun and important moment for myWallaby.

Special thanks goes out to all our friends for their help in making our first photo shoot a huge success. And especially to our models, who epitomized just the kind of girls we envisioned using our product!