So, I finally contacted a few studios and selected one. No, I didnt go for price, or those I used in the past for other photos. I contacted the supposedly good ones advertised and recommended in Honeycomber and Expat Living magazines. After some discussion on the kind of shots I would like, I chose one of them and an appointment was made.
I shall not go through the professional makeup part, since that is something all of us went through before - how they did the lashes, the bronzer, blah blah blah and you are asked to "look up, look down, close your eyes" etc.
That done, I was actually a little unhappy that they had not informed me to bring my own change of clothes. I had already made it clear that it was my first time doing a portraiture shoot, and some studios provide the costumes. That said, I was left with one single dress (the one I had on) and my own gloves and fake roses I brought along for the effect I wanted.
Never mind, I would improvise the dress during the shoot itself - wearing it the other way round, zipping up fully, unzipping and tucking the front in to create a deep "V" neckline.
I wanted more of the vintage, "Audrey Hepburn-ish", French and pensive kind of shots, not so much of staring at the cameras or posing kind. I wanted it to be more natural, and the poses subtle, as if I was being caught deep in thoughts unaware. It was supposed to be a classic, timeless kind of facade portrayed.
Not an easy task, which is why it was appreciated this particular studio had the necessary "French doors" and balcony / verandah kind of setting.
As an amateur who is not good at posing, I had to learn a lot from the professional photographer who would direct me to "look left", :"look at your shoes", "lift your arm a little more" etc. He was very patient with me, and for certain poses he would execute them himself so I just imitated them.
An hour later, the photoshoot was completed with me enacting different positions and "roles", using roses, gloves, white feather boa and natural ones.
This was probably peanuts compared to what professional models have to endure on a daily basis, and I must admit, it is no easy feat. The makeup, the heat, the frustration of being directed to tilt, look here and there, lift arms, cross legs etc at the bid and call of the photographer, all the while being a little self-conscious (models may not be self-conscious about their bodies though).
A few days later, I went back to select the photos I wanted for my package.
It was there that they tried the "beauty parlour" trick on me, telling me how the rest of the shoots were all very nice etc as well, and tried to persuade me into create coffee table books with them, on top of my package.
I must admit that this caught me by surprise a little, and I did like the other shoots as well.
Anyway, the hardcopies and touched-up softcopies and whatever coffee table books would only be ready in a month's time, so a disclaimer that these photos are the untouched shots. I have 40 photos in all.
Well, it was a fun experience overall.
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