Beauty Shoot- Caroline

Just realized I kept wanting to update but kept putting it off 'til the next shoot and then the next shoot and then another shoot. This semester I've completed 6 major shoots, worked with heaps of awesome new people and hopefully significantly boosted my portfolio another level. It's great because I can now really concentrate on compiling my print book!

Couple of months ago (it always seems a couple of months ago), I met up with Portia Peacey whose makeup and hair work I've noticed for quite a while, so it's quite exciting to finally collaborate on something. We decided on avant garde hair with a European Nordic theme and contacted Sarah (Baxter) to hopefully do makeup. Now I've mentioned Sarah a few times, we first worked together early in the year and her clean beauty work simply blew me away. It was one of the definitive turning moment in my work so anyone can imagine how hilariously happy I was.

Beauty is a big part of the fashion industry- all those skin care, makeup, hair products, perfume, jewelery ads are in most parts beauty photography. It's all about perfection- perfect hair, perfect skin, meticulous makeup application, phenomenal faces, phenomenal lighting and it involves a great team working together which is stressed even more given how the slightest imperfection would be brought up in beauty work. The biggest mistake when trying to shoot beauty is thinking that all that is needed is makeup or a beautiful model, and while beauty usually utilize beautiful models (and makeup) it's actually a combination of everything which focuses on skin, hair and makeup. It's about the art and the perfection and if one facet fails, the whole image fails. This is also perhaps why many would mistake portraiture or glamour work for beauty when they aren't really.

This is Sarah, uber cute! She's standing in for a light test =D

Sarah working on Caroline, our model of the day.

Portia attempting the hair which is a white faux piece styled on the model's own hair.

We are yet again in my little apartment studio so we're working around the bench and table. We are joined by Caroline from Chadwicks and Vlad who's assisting me. The shoot itself it set up against a white wall and I wanted a really nice bright clean type of lighting so (and here's the semi scary part where due to lack of equipment and making do with what we have) we hooked up one of the hotlights on a hanger and hung it through the vent in the ceiling. This serves as my main front light.

Portia subtly changed the hair for three looks while Sarah did a clean face with blue eyeshadow, then blue and silvery lips and then a lovely orange lip.

 

Sarah and Portia stepping in to fix stray hair.

A valiant attempt to introduce a back hair light.

This was possibly the quickest ever shoot we have ever done. It lasted about half a day and Caroline was superb just easing into each change with rapid succession. I did learn however that white is notoriously difficult to light without losing details and definition, so that is something to focus on for next year ;)

 

 

 

Makeup Sarah Baxter

Hair Portia Peacey

Model Caroline @ Chadwick

Photography S de Varax

Assistant Vlad K

Summer

Melbourne has turned into a scorcher when it's not raining straight through for 6 hours. Attempting to sit through 3.5 hours of law exams twice was rather an achievement in itself and at last I'm free. Sweet sweet freedom from being cooped up for two weeks staring at tiny notes and bright computer screens!

Sarah (a very dear and darling makeup artist who recently moved to Melbourne and we've been working together for awhile) and I excitedly planned for a what promised to be phenomenal beach fashion and beauty shoot. Unfortunately, as always when I prepared for a location shoot, the skies thundered and grayed and positively threatened sleet. Slightly dramatic but I'm hugely disappointed in Melbourne 'Four Seasons' weather!

Just the other day popped in again at Insert Name Here to see Airdrie and met the newest designers who joined the store. Eva Q is a must watch young couturist, her current collection an exemplar of hand sewn delicacy, while Hamish of T Shirt Garage produces comfortable male and female tees grafted with muscle car designs. It was Hamish's welcome evening and somehow I got roped in to shooting runway and event! What an interesting experience negotiating through available light, trying to shoot quickly, quietly and with decent composition. Don't think I did so well, but it was great fun =D

I'll soon be busy with a new shoot and will be updating with images from the big editorials from months ago =D Stay tuned!

Orphan

I meant to write about this on Halloween! Saw Orphan the night before, and while I'm usually not partial to horror films due to an overactive imagination (I still fear Chucky and IT), I was really surprised by Orphan!

The story tells of a family still grieving from the loss of a stillbirth baby, and they decided to adopt a girl who turned out not quite as expected. The film maintains a sense of watchful creepiness even from the start, relying on expert cinematography to deliver the audience along with it. Unlike most other horror thrillers, this one does not involve a high amount of senseless blood and gore.

Not quite sure why the reviewers aren't as receptive to Orphan, perhaps because it doesn't hold the same sort of value in potential sequels, the movie was definitely a little more artsy. I was blown away by the performance of the 12 yr old lead actress Isabelle Fuhrman who played 'Esther', very mature, well thought out and she absorbed her character utterly.

Her transformation in the movie was so impeccable! Alternating between sweet child and psycho with such ease, I half expected her to appear in the room!

Time to stop shuddering. Orphan isn't as scary as all the Exorcist type movies and Ring and etc, but still, quite enjoyable for a thriller =D

All images of Orphan movie belong to Dark Castle.