Snow Queen - the story behind the image
The idea to create this image of Snow Queen came about at the end of September when, pondering about upcoming Halloween, I realized that have never done a photo shoot in a really exaggerated disguise. Having conceived that notion, I immediately contacted a professional makeup artist Aradia Vive whom I had met just weeks before. Aradia of Bridal Makeovers by Aradia (www.bridalmakeovers.com) told me she would be interested in working on a project after having seen a few screenshots that I dug up in Google images. My next step was to find a model for the role and I immediately texted Nelly, who has been my contributor and friend and who is always willing to partake in my photographic experiments. After scheduling an appointment for the makeup to be done, Nelly and I set off on our quest to obtain all the materials to bring the image to life and it just happened so that in the car, on the way to the local arts and crafts store, I casually suggested the idea of a snow queen as a theme. I guess it struck a chord with Nelly so it was determined that snow queen is what she would to materialize into. Having narrowed it down to a theme made purchasing supplies so much easier - we bought rhinestones of assorted sizes, a jar of glitter, white hair spray, wired tinsel, a bag of foil bits, and silver nail polish. The crown was created out of a decoration that was sold in the bridal/floral section, which I cut into smaller branches and attached using wired tinsel to a headband. I must say, I'm extremely proud of my creation - tis the first crown I had ever made! The entire trip to Bal Harbor and back, where Aradia performed makeup magic, took about five hours, but fighting rush hour traffic on the way back to Boca to do the shoot, we both felt satisfied that the hardest part of putting the image together had already been done. Once we got to the studio, the magic of transformation continued as Nelly skillfully (insisting she did not need me help when being asked five times) put her hair up in an intricate yet tasteful design and adorned it with a crown. To make sure the queen looked like she was made of snow, I proceeded to spray her hair with white hair spray, which on accidental contact with skin proved to be useful in that regard as well, so we sprayed Nelly's arms as well to give them a silvery glow. The final touch was to tie Nelly's chest with a silver belt (yes, it is a belt indeed) which we found at Marshall's for five dollars - those who seek truly find!
The actual photo shoot was conducted with just one speed-light and a soft box. After having experimented with a number of poses, the million dollar shot turned out to be this image you see here. It was lots of fun to research ideas and come up with a theme and then manifest that vision into life. I am also very proud to have won an honorable mention for this image at a monthly photography contest that is held for members of a meetup called The Art of Seeing (it's a wonderful group of seasoned and aspiring photographers that provides a lot of inspiration and feedback).