Kacey Beaudry and I met earlier this year and with her talent and sense of humour, we bonded over dirty jokes (mine), kids (ours), and cute men (hers). When she contacted me to work with her on a make-up styling she had been thinking about for a while, I was all for it. Indigenous Avant Garde, using traditional colours and themes in a modern interpretations. We gathered our models – Jeff Mooswa, Darian Lovechild, Kari Wuttunee and Alexandra Thomson – and shot on the Sunday after Halloween. Hair was done by the talented Sasha Walls. Accessories provided by Beads, Rhymes, Life, Savage Rose Designs, and Catherine Blackburn.
End notes (photog talk):
I shot this series in studio at the beginning, as Kacey wanted clean, crips looks to showcase the makeup. That meant more portfolio aligned shots, for sure, as well as use of a reflector and soft box. I used a 50mm lens. While in studio, I also played with the natural light that was streaming in, and we managed to get a variety of images. For the up-close images of the makeup, I used a 100mm macro lens, which made the details show up nice and crips.
The second part was street photography with natural light, as that is more my style, anyways. We shot along 2nd Ave, as well as two back-alleys for the use of the graffiti coloured walls. The editing was more gritty and film-like for the street scenes, as I wanted a more distressed look, as well as a way for their make up to pop.
I really enjoyed the diverse ways of shooting that day, although beauty-editing is a bitch. I try not to go overboard – keeping skin natural looking and letting some flaws shine through – but shooting in studio with studio lighting really magnifies the minor things that natural light and reflectors let slide. It took forever to edit sometimes. Good to know.
