For those of you that are always in the Christmas mood, here’s a post for you!

Last fall, Mark Hartsfield, owner of Hartsfield Design, a firm that I do quite a bit of work with, contacted me about photographing some product and catalog shots for The Lynn Haney Collection, one of the most recognized collections of handmade Santa Clause dolls in the nation. I was both flattered and excited to participate in the production of the 2009 catalog, especially after speaking with Mr. Haney at length about his wonderful product!

The story behind the collectibles can be found at The Lynn Haney Collection Web site, but just knowing that these pieces were made with such high quality standards in mind made my work even more meaningful and enjoyable. Lynn is a great person to work with, a true artist, passionate about his work, a great family man (his entire family participates in the collection, or his other venture, Hollyhock’s, a Lubbock fine-living boutique), and an inspiring story of success, starting as a junior high art teacher to one of the most respected artists in the nation. Lynn was selected to create an ornament for the White House Christmas tree this past holiday season!

While I don’t want to spoil the catalog and show you tons of actual product shots (although there are a couple above), I thought it’d be neat to see some of the production shots (all behind-the-scenes photos by Joe Esparza). Before this shoot, I had already shot approximately 45 dolls for Lynn in the studio, in which he had to transport all of them to me. Before this, I visited with Lynn and Mark at Lynn’s warehouse, where he keeps literally thousands of collectibles depending on the season (believe me, it was the season, there were Santas all over the place), and after this studio shoot, I thought I would ask Lynn if JFP could come to him, making it a little more convenient for LHC. He agreed, and we came in, set up shop (backdrop stand, silk backdrop, a few softboxes, a grid spot, some conversation, and we were running.

Besides Joe, Mark had a few others along as well, Amanda, the designer behind much of the Lynn Haney and Hollyhock’s material, and their intern, Kelly. It’s always nice to have some of the design team at a shoot like this. They provided quite a bit of direction as far as how they need it to look in the publication, and they could also directly consult with Lynn on his thoughts for the catalog. The whole time, Joe and I are there to get whatever it is they need photographically!

Mark is such a cool guy! He teaches design at Texas Tech as well. It was vital to have him and his team there to make sure were getting exactly what they needed.

If you get a chance, go check out The Lynn Haney Collection, especially if you like to do your Christmas shopping early! Just like this blog title states, there were Santa collectibles everywhere! He has one for everyone’s taste, even some Halloween related dolls!

A big thanks to Mark Hartsfield, Amanda and Kelly for being there to help out, as well as Joe Esparza for photo assistance and prod shots!

More to come!