SMYRNA – In July, a photography crew and fashion model from Woman’s Day magazine visited a farm in Smyrna to set the scene for its latest fall fashions in its nationally-distributed November issue.
The crew traveled from their base of operations in downtown Manhattan in New York City to the Ingerto family farm nestled in the rolling valley of Smyrna.
The dairy farm along Beaver Meadow Road is the backdrop of the magazine’s Nov. 3 “New Knits” feature article.
The farm, run by Jay and Ginny Ingerto, was brought to the magazine’s attention by their 24-year-old daughter Colleen, who worked as a photography intern for the company this past summer.
“I was at work one day talking with my co-workers about how I grew up on a farm, and they were interested. They asked me to take some pictures. A few weekends later, I had the opportunity and when I came back and showed them the images, they fell in love with it,” said Colleen, who is finishing her last year at St. Rose College in Albany.
“Relatable, simple, easy and beautiful,” described Stephanie Kim, Woman’s Day photography director. “Just about anywhere you look, you can find a picturesque scene that’s just another part of the normal country life. It’s wonderful.”
The nine-person magazine crew consisted of a photographer, photography assistant, photography technician, beauty editor, fashion editor, hair and make up stylist, and model.
Beauty Editor Melissa Matthews said the magazine attempts to appeal to women who don’t have hours to dedicate to fashion – women with families and careers.
“For a woman with a busy life, who has a lot going on, things have to be simple,” she said, referring to the knits article the Smyrna shoot highlights.
Photographer Keith Lathrop said the photo spread required about seven finished pictures for the layout, but he estimated that he would take thousands at the shoot.
“For every one finished product, there are usually three or four hundred taken. The client decides what they want and I try to keep that in mind. The pictures should reflect the demographics of the reader,” he said.
While Lathrop snapped away, his photo assistant Andrea Rollefson held a large white panel reflector to even out the natural lighting around the model. The reflector measures about 3 feet in diameter and is held near the model to shed light on the side facing away from the light source, the sun in this case on a warm July day.
After taking dozens of pictures, Lathrop handed over his camera’s memory card to his photo-tech Luke Hanscom, who then downloaded the images on his laptop for immediate review. While Hanscom looked through the images, Lathrop got feedback on his work before slipping in a new chip and taking more pictures.
