Alexandra Potter in the box

Unpacking Myself

Raymond had one of those ideas that sounds slightly ridiculous at first and then becomes surprisingly good once you see it: put me inside a cardboard box and let me unpack myself. I liked the concept immediately because it turned a simple fashion shoot into a tiny visual story. Instead of just standing there in the outfit, I could actually interact with something and make the poses feel more playful.

Less Mess, Better Picture

The first version involved much more packaging material, but once we thought about how it would look in the photos, we dropped most of it. Too much paper and filling would have made everything chaotic and distracted from the outfit. Keeping the box almost empty made the idea much cleaner and more graphic.

Sometimes Editing the Idea Is the Idea

That is something I keep noticing with shoots: the first concept is rarely the final one. You start with more, remove what does not help, and suddenly the image becomes stronger. In the end, the box was enough. I just had to climb in, climb out, and pretend I had finally arrived by mail.