3 Ways To Skin A Cat

AWARD WINNERS SHARE THEIR TECHNIQUES AND APPROACH TO ENTERING COMPETITIONS.

Submitting photographic collections can be daunting; where to start and what to do?

We ask 3 winners of our 2021 Australian Modern Barber Awards Leigh Winsor, Johnny Georgiou and Eoin McCarthy the same questions and get 3 different approaches to attack this very task. Along the way we get invaluable insights into how they each achieve realising their creative visions from their imaginations to a finished product ready for print and submission.

Leigh Winsor, Winner of Australian Modern Barber of the Year and Best Men’s Collection “Classic” takes us through his method from a solo artist perspective.

Johnny Georgiou, Winner of the AMBA Best Men’s Collection “Freestyle” takes us through his method from an artist’s, stylist’s, and photographer’s perspective.

Eoin McCarthy, Winner of the AMBA Special Recognition Award and team member Winner of the AMBA Best Barber Team Collection takes us through his method and that also of a team members perspective.

WALK US THROUGH THE STEPS YOU USE TO ENTER A COMP

LEIGH: I find that concept inspiration comes to me in many ways. My 2021 collection ‘The New Normal’ was a concept idea first, inspired by and designed around the shift in haircuts and colours I was seeing firsthand as we emerged from our lengthy lockdowns here in Melbourne. My other 2021 collection ‘The Upside Down’ was a creative editing decision. I had a bunch of cool, strong silhouette haircuts, almost ‘Other Worldly’. I wanted the edit to compliment that, so I sent my inspirations to the photographer. He showed me the proof copies and it immediately reminded me of the popular TV show ‘Stranger Things’. This collection went on to win me the AMBA Modern Barber of the Year award that year. I’ve never been great at ‘following’ the rules so a lot of my concepts can be a little abstract. Whether they hit the mark or not, I’m always proud of them.

JOHNNY: I always look at the category first before deciding anything from a shoot perspective. Men’s categories traditionally tend to be a little more open with regards to what you can and can’t do. AMBA moved to separate into Classic and Freestyle which was great from a styling point of view. Once I get the category, I look at what’s happening in hair fashion currently and what clothing fashion has been set by fashion designers for the upand-coming season. Using both it’s easy to predict where hair will go and create a collection from there. I will choose my looks and start with about 15 to 20, I find photos of similar styles or hand draw them then lay them out and start to look at what “theme” is the most prominent in my styles.

From there I will narrow down my looks and refine my theme which allows me to then look at styling for the clothes. The hardest part of this shoot was sourcing a real Vietnam War parachute for the background.

EOIN: When preparing for a specific competition we most definitely use the brief to see how far we can push our limitations. There is a different process used depending on whether the competition is photographic or live, however they both have similarities in structure. I find our best work stems first from an idea, a concept or vision that comes to us at random times of inspiration. For example, my “Unity in Diversity” collection was an idea of mine prior to matching it to a competition’s criteria. Once the concept is in place, we can then start to brainstorm looks & models that fit our criteria. This is how the process starts. This year & 2021 I didn’t enter any of the individual competitions as I didn’t have a strong enough concept in which I wanted to invest in. We do find competitions as a good deadline for your creative ventures also. It’s good to set parameters & a specific time & date to aim for. Otherwise, you could spend your whole career with endless ideas stored in your head.

WHAT SORT OF PREPARATION DO YOU HAVE TO DO FOR THE STYLING AND MODELS?

LEIGH: I find it best to get all the models’ measurements and have them handy for the stylist. A prior fitting is ideal for each model so you really know you can nail the look on the day. It’s always nice to try other options too. On the actual shoot day, time is money! So, it pays to have minimal fuss time when it comes things like styling.

JOHHNY: Styling for the shoot is decided when the theme is. I tend to choose my vibe then go shopping for clothes. A lot of the clothes are my own as I have styled men’s shoots for 10 years now so my wardrobe is a bit insane as far as variety goes. I know the boys’ sizes as I use quite a few of them regularly and will always buy free fitting clothing. Fittings don’t normally occur as men’s clothing as a bit easier to deal with than woman’s and makeup doesn’t really need trialling. It’s important to have a team that work with you on the day that know what they are doing

EOIN: This depends a lot on your budget for the shoot. We’ve done most of our shoots on a very limited budget therefore we have taken all the styling into our own hands thus far. Once we have matched & sourced our models to the concept of our shoot, we then invite them into the studio for a free pre-shoot haircut a few weeks out to discuss the vision & idea of the shoot. This gives us an understanding of them as a person & gives us feeling of their hair prior to shoot day. This leaves nothing to chance. In terms of lighting, we leave that to the professionals. Our go-to photographer has been Sean Higgins (@shotography). He’s the genius behind all the lighting design in our shoots.

DO YOU DO ALL OF THE HAIR ON THE DAY OF THE SHOOT?

LEIGH: I like to use hair colour in my collections and competition work, so I make sure that’s done in advance. Usually, a few days prior depending on vibrancy and regrowth. I do this because it’s so time consuming! If I leave this to the day, it will make for a very rushed and restricted experience. A lot of the cutting and styling is done on the day, especially geometric looks or looks with sharp finishes. I tend to find these looks best on camera immediately after cutting.

JOHHNY: The only hair that happens on the day is styling, all cuts and colours are done prior to the day to eliminate any unforeseen disasters and reduce shoot times. There’s nothing worse than cutting on the day and ending up with hair on the models faces that I then must edit out afterwards. That has happened to me with other stylists shoots so it has become a general rule.

EOIN: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depending on the haircut we’re executing, how many models we must shoot & how much time we have with our photographer, we will do the hair either the day before or on the day. When working as a team, we do the hair on the day & rotate our time with the photographer to keep things efficient. “Having limited time can sometimes push you to do your best work. Too much time can be a curse as it leads to overthinking. “

DO YOU SHOOT ALL MODELS AT ONCE OR IN SEPERATE SESSIONS?

LEIGH: I like to shoot my models in volume. I find I work quite well under pressure. In the past I have worked on shoots and only done 1-2 looks for the whole day and I feel like I have so much more to give. In my 2021 competition season I shot 13 models over 2 days, that really emptied the tank!

JOHHNY: The day I shot this collection I also shot 2 others. There was a total of 6 models with 10 different hair looks on that day. Originally there was going to be 8 models but 1 pulled out at the last minute and another was going to cancel but I convinced him to come in the next day for his 1 look. Working this way is a bit crazy but men’s hair is so much easier so you can get through more looks in one day than women collections.

EOIN: Historically I’ve broken my personal shoots up over several sessions not to overwhelm myself, but we have also done everything on one day. Both works well, when organised well.

PLEASE SHARE SOME ADVICE AND TIPS TO ENCOURAGE AND INSPIRE OTHERS TO UNLEASH THEIR CREATIVE TALENTS AND ENTER SOME COMPS.

LEIGH: Live Competitions and Photographic Competitions have always been an anchor point for me in hair. Whenever I feel bit uninspired by the industry, I think back to what I’ve always enjoyed all along and its competition work. It’s a way for me to get all the creative ideas out of my head and into a tangible form. It’s almost like wiping the slate clean for the year, making way for new ideas to flow through. This acts as a great remedy if you are feeling like the day to day is becoming a little mundane. There’s really nothing to fear when jumping into competitions. The way I get around this is to think of it as a direct representation of where your art, skill, ideas, and concepts are at right now. Some people will love it and some people not so much and if they like it enough you might just win an award. It’s all subjective in the end anyway. Let it be a marker in time or a gauge of where you are at, to where you might want to be. This will keep you motivated and inspired to push and reach new heights. All you must do then is reverse engineer the process of attaining the new information you need. Finding great mentors will help tremendously with this. Photoshoots and competition wins are a great look for you too. It shows you are active in the industry and have a keen sense for development. This is extremely handy when looking to work with brands and magazines as you have high quality work that represents you, this has worked wonders for me over the years!

JOHNNY: Shooting doesn’t have to be an epic ordeal if you are prepared. I have some simple steps for shooting that serve me well. - Choose your category and stick to it - Do your research, look at upcoming fashion, you don’t want your collection to look dated when it gets released - Choose your looks and practice them well before shoot day - Choose your models based on your looks not the other way around - Pick your team well, they really make a difference. You need 3 key people, your clothing stylist, your makeup artist, and your hair assistant. - Choose a photographer that you are comfortable with, they will make or break your shoot and should direct the day for you to allow you to do your job, which is hair!!

I generally have one simple rule though: Don’t shoot to win, shoot to grow, and if it’s not fun…. don’t bother.

EOIN: Entering hair competitions is one of the best things you can do as a hairstylist. It is a way of pushing what you believe to be your creative limitations & documenting your best work. It teaches you a hell of a lot & you will gain respect for a whole different side of the industry. To even enter an award, you will learn a completely different set of skills in which will add to your overall development as a human, not only as a barber or hairstylist. In terms of dealing with the fear of it. What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll never know until you try & if you need some help, be sure to reach out for some advice! We’re always a message away…

@area_academy @leighwinsor @eoinmccarthyhair @barberboysau @fotosbyjohnny