Shooting Vogue-Style Fashion Portraits with Long Weekend Bags

A utility camera bag meets fashion.

Being a wedding and landscape film photographer, I needed a sturdy shoulder bag for wedding events, informal shoots, and even longer trips. The Long Weekend Santa Fe Shoulder Bag was the perfect choice. Not only is it incredibly stylish, but it also looks great in photos. Many photographers, myself included, often photograph our bags at cafes or while working outdoors, so having a photogenic bag is a bonus. When the next Long Weekend collection was released, I switched to using the Beacon Tote as my primary work and laptop bag. It never failed to garner compliments, and I have to commend Willem, Allison, and the entire Moment team for such a fantastic design.

Over time, as I shared more pictures of my Long Weekend bags online, Willem from Moment reached out to me. He wanted to know if I'd be interested in creating a feature for Moment, showcasing the photos I've taken of their bags during my journeys. I was excited by the offer and suggested shooting fresh content specifically for this project. Willem agreed enthusiastically.

My primary passion in photography is portraiture, and I began to envision the immense potential of this shoot. I immediately thought of my best friends, Gabby and Isabelle of Vogue-ish Boutique. We have worked on multiple projects together, and they've professionally styled multiple shoots I've had with various clients. We went for a 90s retro sporty kind of vibe based on the primary colors completely sourced and styled by Vogue-ish Boutique.

As far as location — I always love putting my hometown on the map creatively, so we headed to the foothills of Bakersfield, CA. It was an overcast evening that provided more of a moody vibe for the photos / Super 8. I ended up using multiple cameras to shoot the project. My main 35mm camera was the Contax G2 + 28mm and TLA 200 flash. In addition, on the 120 front, I pulled out the trusty Mamiya 7 with a 65mm lens and Fuji GA645W. I used Kodak Portra 400 and 800 and sent my film to Negative Lab for processing. I used Kodak Vision 500T for my Super 8 film stock and Pro8mm for processing.