The Great Storm-Series

Behind the Scenes of Published Image: Laced in Luminescence

Before Shoot

This was my first spontaneous shoot in the year of 2023. It all started on the perfect crisp winter night. A group of friends were huddled outside circling a crackling bonfire. It was a get together for meeting new friends and enjoying eachothers company unplugged from devices. 

As we threw dried herbs from the garden into the pit we talked about our inspirations and ideas we had for this new year. After screeching with excitement we concluded that we needed to do a fun shoot. Something with wings and flowy things. Which concocted into the potion that is The Great Storm. A fun 5 image series of beach fairies roaming the beach and finding treasure. 

 

Location, Location & Location.

Arrive at location and set up. We drive to this beautiful location that I am lucky enough to live near. It has stunning views, small hikes and full tidepools.

The prep:

As this was a spontaneous shoot I didn’t do an immense amount of preparation for this shoot as I did for my last. It started with conjuring some outfits from my trunks downstairs. I found such treasures like a tulle skirt I made back during quarantine and lots of fun dresses. I grabbed them with a handful of wigs and started making my pile. I ended up filling the car to the brim with odds and ends. 

During the Shoot: Getting the Right Shot

A behind the scene image of catch flight. ✨🧚🏻‍♂️

 The Day of the Shoot:

I always get nervous the day of the shoot. I woke up way too early and drank my matcha while I wrote out the plan for the day.

Objective 1: Pack the rest of the car and account for all needed items. It took about 30 minutes to fill the car. I had to pack all the outfits, a ladder, a step stool, the makeup kit, a chair, the tent, the hair accessories, the lighting equipment, the camera and much more like water and snacks.  This is always the most important step of the whole shoot since everything packed is another element of the shoot that makes it more detailed and special. 

Objective 2: Arrive at location and set up. We drive to this beautiful location that I am lucky enough to live near. It has stunning views, small hikes and full tidepools. We arrived at a parking lot that was completely full of cars and people. Unfortunately I misjudged a sunday morning in this small town and everyone was at the beach. Eventually everyone showed up and we all parked at different locations from beaches nearby. We started to unload the car and my wonderful assistants set up the tent as well as hanging all the clothing. I started on the makeup as many locals walked by us and started up conversations. And if you know me, I am not one that can focus on a shoot and have everyday conversation at the same time. I’m so consumed by the shoot that my normal human skills go out the window. So my wonderful assistants will step in and speak English for me 😂. 

Objective 3: Shoot. The makeup got done and we headed down to the beach. It was so chilly and windy when we got down there. We got the model dressed in our tent and got to shooting. It was so much fun just frolicking and running from the water. So, thank you to my wonderful assistants who shouted at me “ WATER” whenever I went too close. After we got all the desired images we packed the car once more and headed for home. 

Objective number 3: Edit. This is by far one of the most difficult parts of the process for me. Not only just manipulating the image to come out like what I had in my mind but having to find hours of time to sit down and go through every detail. I am a perfectionist at heart and It’s so difficult when to call the editing process done because there are always spots to improve on especially since I’m still new at this. One of my favorite parts about editing this shoot was that most of it was an experiment and trying new ideas and techniques that I haven’t tried so far in my career. It would say it came out very successful. 

Objective 4: Publishing. Now, who would be interested in publishing my art? It took some time to choose who I thought would be interested and had the same vibe and values for the magazine. I landed on Guilded Magazine since I’ve loved their magazines and published artwork for several years now. After about a month the series was chosen and published in issue number 94. 

Any of this art can be purchased in store @ 601 Embarcadero Suite 1 or for more options on the store section of this website.