The Grange Photoshoot: Unedited Shots

Below are some of the unedited photos from various locations at The Grange where the photographer and I shot the grand bird lady look. 

There were a few challenges when shooting this look. Firstly, it was a very cold day (-1 degrees!) so we had to do the shoot in little bursts so that the model could put a big coat on and try and warm up a bit between shots so that she wasn't too cold and didn't look 'frozen' in the photos. It was also a very windy day so the feather eyebrows kept blowing in front of the models eyes and the feather collar also kept blowing up. The wind was also causing the models eyes to water so the makeup in the waterline kept coming off which was tricky to keep re-doing. The wind also kept blowing the models bun causing some of the hair to fall or move so the donut was shown. This will be edited in photoshop to be fixed.

However, I am pleased with the outcome as I think the overall look of the model worked well with the setting of the shoot, and I especially like the variety of backgrounds she is placed against to give an assortment of images. 

The photographer will edit these photos so they are suitable to put into my book. 

 

 

 

 

The Grange Photoshoot: Behind the scenes

For my second photoshoot, I chose the location of 'The Grange' stately home in Winchester, with its mix of natural settings and also the grand building itself to photograph against. 

When coming up with a hair and make-up design to mix with the location, I wanted to do something quite grand and wanted the model to look powerful and glamorous, as though she owned the place, but keeping a surreal edge to the look. With this in mind, I dressed my model in a floor length plunging, backless fishtail sequinned petrol blue dress and paired it with an iridescent black/blue feather collar to  also keep with the theme of nature. 

For the make-up, I started by applying a base of Bobbi Brown foundation in shade 'Porcelain' with the matte Illamasqua primer and buffed it well into the skin. I then concealed any necessary areas and powdered to set. Next I contoured the face with a Barry M powder to give a more structured look to the face and then I highlighted the cheekbones to compliment the contour. 

For the eyes, I used a black pencil liner to line the upper and lower waterline. I then primed the eyelids with an Urban decay eye primer and applied Urban Decay eyeshadow in 'Framed' all over the lid and up to the brow. Next I created a cut crease using a Sleek matte black eyeshadow and blended upwards slightly. I then used a black gel liner to create a flick that joined with the cut crease. Then I applied a small amount of mascara and and put on some spiky false lashes on the upper lid and individual ones under the eyes. For the brows I bought two small black fluffy feathers and cut half away in rode to create a brow like shape and stuck them on underneath each eyebrow with eyelash glue. 

Finally for the lips I applied MAC lip pencil in 'Chestnut' all over and then applied Topshop lipstick in 'Get me bodied' on top. 

For the hair, I decided to keep it simple as I didn't want the look to be too busy so I straightened her hair and scraped it into a tight ponytail gelling the sides back. I then placed a giant hair donut around the base of the ponytail and wrapped the hair around it and secured with hair pins and hairspray. 

 

 

The Grange Photoshoot: Moodboard

The concept for this shoot is a crow/ lady of the manor hybrid. I will choose a tall model with a slender build and dark hair as I want her to look powerful yet elegant in the images. The make-up and hair will be structured and I will style her in a floor length petrol blue sequinned dress and a feather collar in order to keep with the elegant yet strong look. I will have this look photographed at 'The Grange' manor house in Winchester.

Sources: 

• www.chaos-mag.com 
• www.ebird.org 
• www.english-heritage.org.uk 
• www.pintrest.com 
• www.snobessentials.com 
• www.youtube.com

Butterfly Photoshoot: Studio Shots

For the studio version of my butterfly shoot, I chose to keep the makeup very simple and natural looking with a hint of dewy highlighted skin like in the theatrical version of the shoot but toned town. For the linking accessory, I chose to use Paperself eyelashes with butterflies on the corner of each eye, as I think when the image is printed up in A3 in my book the lashes will add a subtlety with detail to the image. 

The photographer will merge the top of her head from her eyebrows up with either a woodland scene  to match where we photographed the theatrical version of the shoot, or an open space with hills as butterflies often are found flying in open spaces and they can represent freedom. 

Butterfly Photoshoot: Unedited Shots

Below are some of the photos from the various locations in Ashridge Woods that we photographed the butterfly shoot in. 

A few challenges surfaced while on the shoot, the biggest problem being the wind, which was very strong and was blowing her hair all over the place and also blowing the butterflies out of her hair. I overcame this by inserting extra hair grips and hairspray and made sure I was on hand so between shots I could try and fix the hair again and place the butterflies back in it. It was also a very cold day so to keep the model warm we kept having to get in and out of the car and tried to keep the shooting time as quick as possible in order to make sure she didn't look too cold in the photos.

I am really pleased with the outcome of the shoot and particularly like the use of different backgrounds, especially the laying down one amongst the brown shrubbery as I think the earthy brown compliments the orange of the butterflies and also makes the blue on her eyes pop.

The photographer will edit the shots to make sure the model looks flawless. 

 

 

 

Butterfly Photoshoot: Behind the scenes

To create the hair and make-up look for my final Butterfly photoshoot, I stuck with the make-up and hair designs I created in the test shoot, but with slight changes, such as the rice paper butterflies instead of the paper ones. 

I started by doing the skin, which I used a Bobbi Brown foundation in shade 'Porcelain Peach', mixed with Illamasqua hydra veil and Illamasqua satin primer and buffed in well to give her skin a very glowy and shimmery look. I then highlighted her face further by sweeping some Bobbi Brown highlighting shimmer brick across her cheekbones and down the centre of her nose, and I did the same with Lime Crime eyeshadow in 'Fly'. 

Next I primed her lids with Urban Decay eye primer and blended Lime Crime 'Filter' eyeshadow all over the eyelid up to the brow and under the eye in a soft winged shape. I then blended 'Fly' shadow in the inner corners of the eyes. Finally for the eyes I applied a small amount of mascara to the top and bottom lashes. For the brows I stuck small butterflies over them using lash glue and stuck them out to the hairline. 

For the lips I again used the Urban Decay eye primer and then pressed 'Fly' shadow all over them to create an iridescent look. I then finished the makeup by sticking the various sized rice paper butterflies up the chest and neck. 

For the hair I simply backcombed it all over and slightly smoothed it back and pinned into place whilst pulling some of the front pieces out to create a slightly more unkept look. I then placed a few butterflies into the hair also. 

I will use a variety of photos like these in the 'Behind the scenes' section for each shoot in the back of my book. 

Butterfly Photoshoot: Moodboard

 

The concept of this shoot is a 'Queen of Butterflies' look, as the butterflies will be placed all over her chest and neck and eyebrows, making it look as though the butterflies are swarming towards her and resting and that she is one with them. I will use the model that I used in the test shoot for this look as I feel she worked well. I will have this look photographed in Ashridge woodland. 

Sources:

• www.allfreedownload.com 
• www.kids.nationalgeographic.com 
• www.latesthairstl.tk 
• www.lifewithchampions.com 
• www.makeupandbeauty.com
• www.pintrest.com 
• www.pixiwoo.com 
• www.polyvore.com 
• www.stylesweekly.com 
• www.youramazingplaces.com 

Double Exposure Image Inspiration

For the double exposure studio shots I have taken inspiration from images such as the one below by Antonio Mora where the natural landscape comes out of the top of the head.

(http://www.mylovt.com)

For the images like this in my book, instead of covering half of the models face with the landscape, it will just come out of the top of the head. My photographer Holden Tuffield created this example on photoshop, which I am really pleased with and it is the sort of image I would like to have in my book, however the images will be in colour not black and white. 

Updated Production Schedule

Week Commencing:

• 11th January: Plan each shoot, know what props are needed for each shoot, 
  choose models for shoots and notify them, start to source and buy costumes, 
  wigs etc., start to design make-up and hair for each shoot. 
• 18th January: Continue buying necessary items for shoots, add onto any 
  costumes that need altering, finalize all make-up and hair designs, make sure 
  wig preparation is underway. 
• 25th January: Continue photo shoot prep. Start blogging.
• 1st February: Continue photo shoot prep. Blogging.
• 8th February: Continue photo shoot prep. Meet with photographer to discuss ideas and make sure he understands my visions for each shoot and what I'm after.
• 15th February: Mermaid studio shoot 16th Feb. Butterfly theatrical photo shoot 21st Feb. Blogging.
• 22nd February: The Grange theatrical photo shoot 27th Feb. Blogging.
• 29th February: The Grange studio shoot 29th Feb. Butterfly and Beetle & Flower studio shoots 5th March. Beetle & Flower theatrical shoot 6th March. Blogging.
• 7th March: Mermaid theatrical shoot. Blogging. Start to choose and finalise text to go with each image.
• 14th March: Make sure with photographer that all chosen photos are edited to standard and saved in a high quality format. Start to arrange photos in the correct layout for book.
• 21st March: Finalize book proof and send off for print no later than 25th March.
• 28th March: Australia 
• 4th April: Australia 
• 11th April: Australia 
• 18th April: Check print is up to standard incase corrections are needed. 
• 25th April: Write 1500 word project evaluation on blog. Make sure blog is complete.
• 6th May: FINAL MAJOR PROJECT DUE 

Further Changes to my Book

I have developed my ideas on my book further and have decided to introduce a new aspect to my book, and change a few other things also. Firstly, I have decided to change the theme to 'Natural Beauty', tying together the idea of natural settings and animals to the beauty of the model and hair, make-up and costumes.  

I have also decided to still do 8 photo shoots, but instead of them being all on location, I will do 4 theatrical shoots on location, each using a different model and theme, and then use the same model for a studio shoot, totalling 4 studio shoots. On location the model with have an elaborate hair and makeup design and costume fitting to the location, and in the studio the model will have a very minimalistic hair and make-up look with one element from the theatrical shoot. The photographer who I'm working with will then take the shot of the model from the studio and merge the top of their head with a natural element to compliment the shoot, e.g. I plan to create a butterfly themed photo shoot on the woods, so he will merge the top of her head with a woodland scene. 

The 4 photo shoot themes that I have decided on are:

Shoot 1: Butterfly inspired shoot in Ashridge woods in Hertfordshire 

Shoot 2: Bird inspired shoot at 'The Grange' house in Winchester 

Shoot 3: Mermaid inspired shoot on Bournemouth beach 

Shoot 4: Flower and beetle inspired shoot in Ashridge woods and gardens in Hertfordshire

I will still have an introductory page of text or a quote to introduce each shoot, and am still keen on presenting the book in the same way I have originally planned, with the linen covering in A3. I will have around 4 images from each shoot and the double exposure studio shot at the end of each 'chapter', totalling in around 6-8 pages per shoot 'chapter'. I will also keep the idea of a 'behind the scenes' section but just with the images of me doing the hair and makeup and some photos of the location without the model in it, as more of an insight rather than a 'how to' so that I don't take any of the 'magic' away.

Changes to my Book

I have decided to make a few changes in the layout of my book in order to improve its unique selling point and differentiate it to any similar books on the market.

Firstly I have decided to decrease the amount of photo shoots I'm creating from 10 to 8, in doing this it will allow me slightly more time to plan each shoot, create the props and costumes and organise the models, photographer and locations as well as designing the hair and make-up for each shoot. Each shoot will have 6 pages in the book, including 1 page of text to introduce each photo shoot, followed by 3-5 images of each shoot, totalling 48 pages.

To compensate for lacking pages (as with 10 shoots there would have been 60 pages), I have decided to insert a 'behind the scenes' chapter to the back of the book. This will be broken down into each shoot, with a mix of images of me doing the models hair and makeup, the set being made up, the photographer taking the photos of the models, etc. There will also be snippets of text amongst the behind the scenes images explaining what was done and how, and also any camera technicalities and what, if any, editing tools were used in the post production of the images. Each shoot will have a behind the scenes spread of 4 pages, bringing the books page total to 80. 

New Inspiration- Benjamin Von Wong

I first came across Benjamin Von Wong's photography when I was researching surreal fashion photo shoots to give me ideas and inspiration for my own project.

Benjamin's work caught my eye with its beautiful setting, lighting and costume which made it look magical, like it had come straight from a Disney film. I watched a short video of Benjamin explaining how he created the lighting for the shoot and the challenges he faced whilst photographing the models in the old historical library in Admont Abbey in Austria.

His work was especially interesting to me as for one of my photo shoots I will be seeing it up in an old Tudor estate house which is of a large scale so it helped me to think about possible lighting that'll need to be used and the placement of the models in the large old rooms. 

'Beauty and the Beast' (http://www.vonwong.com)

'Fairytale' (http://www.vonwong.com)