Autumn

I’ve always loved Autumn, and in late October I had the chance to do something I’ve never done before: stand behind the camera to take pictures for another woman during my favorite season. I’ve had practice over the past few months taking pictures for my blog, but typically, I’m taking pictures of myself.

Taking pictures of another person was something totally different for me. Especially factoring in that it was 26 degrees the morning of our shoot, and didn’t warm up past 35 all day.

At the very least, I know what it feels like to be posing for someone when you’re shivering. I did what I could to work quickly and make sure we took breaks so she could warm up.

Fall Inspiration

Because it was October when we did this photo shoot, I wanted the tone of our images and the varying ideas to still exhibit an Autumn air, along with some darker styling.

Our first look was our most simple and minimal style, with a softer ambiance and more casual display: “An Air of Fall”. I had this idea of capturing the leaves falling around her.  However, since there was no wind, we had to create our own whirlwind of foliage.

I can’t tell you how many attempts were made at throwing armfuls of leaves into the air during this ordeal. It may have taken a few tries, but it was not in vein! I’m very pleased with how elegant these shots turned out in the long run.

A flash of fang

From there we went to our next look: “Modernized Lost Boys“, fangs and all. Because who doesn’t love some good old fashioned 80s punk styling? Her hair was already fantastic for this punk styling, but the addition of my mermaid extensions made it perfect.

The location we shot at even had a concrete staircase going below ground which worked really well for the cooler tones in some shots. From Lost Boys, we went back to headquarters (aka the car) to warm up and planned out our next look: “The Enchantress”.

Making Magic

You may recognize the dress used for this outfit…I made some modifications to it for this shoot, and it looked stunning on her. We paired the dress with some killer shoes, pleather leggings, and a lace mask for a dark and mysterious tone.

This was one of the hardest parts for me during the shoot. I made adjustments to the dress so we could do some cool stuff with motion in the skirt. Having never tried this before, it took a while to get the hang of timing. A few minutes of practice, and things quite literally fell into place for a magical shot.

Stone Cold

Our last set in front of the stone church was one that I really loved: “The Mourner”. Not only was the combination of the dress and lace veil beautiful, but the lighting combined with the stone contrasting her skin was breathtaking.  This was probably the coldest part of the shoot, especially since I was asking her to lay down on the already cold stone. And to top it off, stay still while I experimented with shooting through the railing.

Playing in the leaves

Our final look to wrap up the day’s shoot: “Golden Folium”. After a long day of shooting, I knew that I had to close the day out with at least one portrait in the yellow leaves. There is nothing quite like laying in the leaves in Autumn. The stunning foliage will always be one of my favorite things about New England.

A special thank you

I’m extremely proud of these images, and the hard work that went into them. It was a wonderful experience, and a great way to embrace the Autumn season while trying something different, especially after spending so much time on the many costumes for October, focusing on a new challenge was fun!