Capturing Elegance: Ralph Lauren's New Chadstone Store.
I love the excitement of photographing a new retail store, especially when it involves a prestigious brand like Ralph Lauren.
The merchandising team had done an extraordinary job of planning and implementing the epic two storey store at Chadstone, so it was quite the responsibility to capture the essence of their hard work in images. Especially since the images were being sent back to head office in New York live for immediate feedback and potential reshoots if necessary.
The Client's Vision
Ralph Lauren's merchandising team approached me with a clear vision: they wanted images that would capture the essence of their brand - timeless elegance, luxury, and attention to detail. The goal was to showcase the store's sophisticated interior design, highlight key product displays, and convey, through photographs, the overall shopping experience that customers can expect.
They specifically requested a mix of wide-angle shots to capture the store's layout and ambiance, as well of carefully as vignettes of product arrangements that they had carefully designed. The images needed to reflect the warm, inviting atmosphere of the space while emphasizing the brand's signature aesthetic.
As I made the images, I found myself thinking about how to best translate the Ralph Lauren experience into visual form. How to hold the hand of future customers, and bring them into the store I was physically standing in. Every shot was an opportunity to tell a story - the story of a brand that has defined luxury for decades.
I was particularly conscious of maintaining consistency in the color palette across all images. Ralph Lauren is known for its rich, warm tones, and I wanted this to be evident in every frame. This meant careful attention to white balance and subtle adjustments in post-processing to ensure a cohesive look. We were particulary aware of the “hot-spots” on the mannequins. Management didn’t want these blowing out, so I used an HDR photographic technique to allow the highlights to survive, especially in the retail window shots. Another big consideration was the eradication of reflections in the store windows - made possible by a giant black cloth held four metres into the air to block lights from the stores opposite.
This project was a reminder of why I love commercial photography. There's something magical about working with a team to create images that don’t just document a space, but captures the intent of its designers using light and composition to capture its mood and tell a story. The Ralph Lauren shoot at Chadstone was a delightful challenge, pushing me to blend technical skill with creative vision to produce images that truly resonated with the client.