Behind the Scenes - Film Noir/ Roaring 20s Shoot at A&M Gardens

Holy Great Gatsby!  I did a photo shoot Sunday night and all kinds of vintage fabulousness ensued.  I've done a Great Gatsby/20s style shoot before, but that one was light and feminine, with a  blond model.  This one had a totally different feel...a brunette model, much darker makeup, a handsome "groom", and amazing lighting that allowed the photographer to create an edgy/moody vibe.  But first, hair and makeup!  Here's what went down:

                                                            Our model, Jenny....

                                                      Creating a major smoky eye....

                                                      Almost done, did a quick test shot.....

                                                 And done!  Makeup is ready to go......

I used a TON of products to create this look, but basically I used a mix of black, gray, brown, taupe and burgundy/red shadows to create tons of depth and dimension in the 20's smoky eye, plus tons of black liner and the biggest lashes I had in stock to go with the extreme, over the top glamorous look.  I sculpted her cheeks with contour powder, defined and darkened her brows and added an oxblood/burgundy lip shade topped with a tiny bit of shadow for a plush look.  Love it! I get super excited when the image I have in my head is exactly how it turns out.  With makeup like this, it's 100% about the context, lighting and photography...I wanted to make it historically accurate, but yet push the boundaries a bit so it would photograph well.  With makeup done, I sent Jenny over to my #1 hair gal, Renn Traylor to create a flirty 20's look reminiscent of Clara Bow:

We also did hair and makeup for our handsome groom, Hunter and then we started shooting just as the sun went down.  Ian Miller of MVision Photography captured some GREAT shots.  The bulk of them will be published at a later date, but here are a few images to give you an idea.  I love everything...the models rocked it, the lighting, the mood even the vintage car....all of the elements really came together.  The old Hollywood glam headshot of Jenny that Ian captured (see below) may be one of my favorite images examples of my work...EVER.  Can't wait to see the rest of the photos...so exciting!

 

Check back for more photo shoot images in the coming weeks!

Photography - MVision Photography

Venue - A&M Gardens

Makeup - Jennifer Trotter, Lip Service Makeup

Hair - Renn Traylor, Renn Does Hair

Dress - Bliss Bridal

(Other elements not pictured are paper goods by Lauren Blake Paper, cake by Kakes by Kay)

 

 

EAST MEETS WEST....on Wedding Chicks!

So excited that a photo shoot I was involved in last summer was featured on the super popular blog Wedding Chicks!  They cover all things Wedding, so it's a fantastic resource for any bride to be, or anyone who just LOVES weddings.

This shoot was created by my girls at Gold Dust Vintage, Megan and Rachel....love them!  They wanted to show how vintage doesn't always have to mean "shabby chic"...but can actually be translated into many types of décor.  They used colorful sofas, lanterns, vases, tableware....all sorts of goodies and created a fantasy setting for an East meets West style photo shoot that was just chock full of ideas for brides to consider!  They gathered up a team of local wedding professionals to help, and I was thrilled to be asked to do hair and makeup for the shoot.  I normally don't do wedding hair, but I was happy to create two simple looks for this shoot...a twisted side pony and then a classic side-parted updo for the second look.  The makeup was FUN....the first look was a very dramatic dress and we wanted dramatic makeup to go with it!  Several colors of blue and turquoise, MAJOR lashes and a bold hot pink lip.....

 

This look was more of a traditional, colorful Indian-inspired look, but yet with modern and edgy twists...I just loved it!  Our model Shaina, was a dream to work with....she's so gorgeous.

 

Oh, did I mention it was WELL over a hundred degrees that day?!?!  It was in August and it was HOT.  So glad my stuff was set up in air conditioning!  The photographer was shooting away and capturing dreamy images like the one above, but then we realized it was starting to get dark....we had to REALLY hurry to do the second look!  I quickly scrubbed Shaina's face and created look #2, a buffed out smoky eye, flushed pink cheeks with a bit of shimmer and a subtle, warm pink lip.  And....more traditional lashes!  This look is more of a glamorous bridal look and one I actually create pretty often on real brides...it photographs well and looks fabulous in person too, it's a most requested look.  With makeup in 15 minutes flat, I pinned up her hair, she changed dresses and put on some truly fabulous jewelry and look #2 was complete!

 

 

 

 

Check out this link from Wedding Chicks for more pictures and details about the shoot, including fabulous paper goods by The Bee's Knee's Custom Design, Dresses and jewelry by De Ma Fille Bridal an amazing cake by Sugar Bee Sweets, Florals by We + You, Photography by Nine Photography, and the lovely venue, Weston Gardens.   Don't forget to check out this fun behind the scenes video from Turquoise Video!