I first met the incredibly gifted stylist Bergren Rameson last year on a shoot for Home magazine. I was amazed by how easy she made propping look with such fantastic results. We were shooting a house for a holiday issue and Bergren put together and fully decorated a 12-ft Christmas Tree in about and hour and half. Absolutely amazing to watch a pro in action. Her excellent taste, sense of style, and great personality have led to gigs for big brand names such as Target, Williams-Sonoma, Martha Stewart Living, Pottery Barn, and many more. Visit her website at www.bergrenrameson.com to see her work.

Last week, I had to pleasure to photograph a personal still life project for Bergren in my studio. Everything you see here is handmade and styled by Bergen. She’s definitely got the gift and I look forward to many more collaborations with her in the future.

Behind The Scenes

I knew this was going to be a cool shoot. So, I got out my little point & shoot and took some snaps of what was happening behind the set. The biggest success to this shoot was using the 5D Mark II’s Live View ability. Bergren being able to see what she was getting live in frame allowed us to get though all these a lot faster than if we were shooting a preview for each adjustment.

Bergren Rameson preps paper envelopes for a shot while her husband Brandon irons in the background.

By shooting tethered and using Canon’s Live View feature, we can position the objects and see the results live on screen. Saves a ton of time!

Bergren handcrafted dozens of paper flowers and leaves for the shoot.

Bergren goes by instinct when styling. Lots of prep is involved, but the actually styling is done impromptu.

Bergren’s wedding cake is actually made of styrofoam warpped in fondent. Here, she decorates the cake with hand crafted paper flowers.

Even as the day progressed, Bergren kept an amazingly neat staging area. If I was doing this, it would look like a bomb went off.

These handcrafted paper balls needed to be hung so the would settle prior to being shot.

Here’s the basic set up: Side window natural light, card table, 2 4×8 foamcore walls for bounce, and beadboard as a background.

Bergren styling in Live View.