There are at least three things I love about working with model, Mercy Clark not the least of which is her Mother Earthliness. She even wanted to be photographed with a gang of bees she found but I'll get back to that later.
The goal was branding images for Pretty Muse and for this shoot our styling was intended to be Pocahontas-ish slash hippie chick enjoying nature. If you know Mercy there really is no better person for this gig than her. Within minutes of meeting her she conjures images of the free spirited chicks from the 70's and the urge to photograph her is overwhelming. I wasn't the first photographer to 'discover' her at her job and ask her if she'd model. We've been shooting Mercy for almost a year now. So, if you like her images you can type her name in the search feature on the home page to find lots more of her! She's a popular download. She has that certain je ne sais quoi.
I'm not sure which came first the inspiration to make a suede-like dress with fringe or the location I found filled with Spanish Moss, but both were made for each other. Then, add one half hippie chick, one half Pocahontas and a whole dose of Mercy and you got a full blown shoot on your hands.
During our shoot while exploring this field of tall grass and Spanish moss she found a gaggle (sounds better than swarm) of bees sitting quietly on the grass and of all things she asked me if I could photograph her with them. Yep. Bees. They are hard to spot but if you look real hard you'll see a bunch of brown dots on the tips of the grass. So we obliged. Can't photograph something in the shade and something in harsh sunlight at the same time very well but that's what this is.
Another thing about Mercy I like is that she's prone to blissful happiness at any given moment. Sometimes this results in a brief and delightful dance. Hopefully you have your camera ready when it happens because it's always camera-worthy.
She also has a great sense of humor and can roar or attack at will. You never know what you'll get with Mercy but it will alway, always be charming and delightful.
This is our 100th post. Yay! I wasn't sure I could commit to this whole blogging idea. It was just too much of a commitment. I wasn't sure anybody would even come. It's like starting a journal but telling everybody your going to do it and make it public. No easy promise. But 100 posts later and 15,000 page views I'll admit I find it rewarding. A secret? Every morning before I get out of bed I grab my phone and hit the app that is the counter for the blog to check to see how many people have visited and from what country. It's a little kiss from the blogosphere to see a number there. Thank you to those faithful readers who come here regularly and to the occassional visitor. I appreciate it.
Don't miss her video!
Her video: ---> http://animoto.com/play/gAyWG1eJ2z0WfrqP4ihoJg
Before and After
Pretty Muse Photography
Featuring: Mercy Clark (who did her own hair)
Makeup: Lindsay LaSalla
Styling: Clothing designed and made by Lj Masty
Music: Dylan in the Movies - August Moon
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