Look? What's a Look?

'What's a Look?'

This is where I start my shoot.  Planning the Look.  We figure out what kind of character we want.

On this shoot with Mariah, we went for a glammy beach shoot with a nod to fashion.
But planning can make or break a shoot. Get it wrong and it'll kill the best outfit or most gorgeous model and killer venue.  It's vital.

Most people say, well of course the pictures are great, look at these unbelieveable models.  Not so fast I say. So how do we get to this look from the one below?

This is Mariah with a typical day look. (In this photo she's actually acting as makeup artist on this shoot with Ashley. 

This is her just before our beach shoot.  Makeup done.  Her hair came out looking like a fancy updo but was really just a ponytail with the ends tucked in.

Building a look involves all the details. It's not just an outfit. It must be as complete as possible.  Here we added an edgy flair with these nails.  $5.00 at Walgreens.  They are silver metallic with a zebra stripped finish.

The earrings are just glue on beads from Joanne Fabrics adhered with body adhesive (don't try using regular glue). And, yes. Glued directly to her ear. The same beads are glued to the large breast plate of beads. Whole package of beads $3.99)

Running late into the day, sun setting with only minutes left we scrambled into the car and dashed over the bridge and drove up to this beach. (Sewell's Point, Florida)

Mariah is very good with many things. She's artistically minded so much of this comes naturally to her, but the most important thing she does is Act. Yep. Like an actress.  She knows the 'Look' we are after and completely embodies that character.

As photographer and directors, we simply call out poses and expressions we want her to move into, that's if she isn't already doing them.  This is what we do with people who have NEVER modeled before.  We walk them through everything. EVERYONE can look extra EXTRA gorgeous!  Everyone call feel gloriously beautiful.

As for editing and Photoshop, these photos have been touched up in Aperture 3. Lighting, skin smoothing and sharpening. (Still learning PS.)

The fancy dress?  It's just 4 yards of jersey knit fabric draped over a flesh toned slip.  The slip fabric is what they use under bathing suits or what they make spanx with, just one long seam, no hem or elastic. Snug and body holding.  The cost of fabric for both pieces approx. $15.00.

So this look cost very little to pull together, especially considering we wanted a glammy look without having a glammy evening gown. Pulling a Look off means paying attention to ALL aspects of the shoot.

If you pay attention to the credits on professional shoots you'll be amazed at the number of people involved. Often it's a whole team of people and extremely expensive.

Hair & Makeup Artist
Set Stylist
Designer
Nail Tech
Photographers and assistants
Venue

I can't tell you how hard this is. When a look comes together it looks completely effortless and simple. But you gotta go through a lot of bad and not so good ideas in order to get there. Especially when you want a wide variety of looks.