Final words

 This project has been a start for me for building my portfolio. I am motivated now, have lots of ideas to work on, I have got my “personal” model who I can take advantage of  in a good way (it’s not like she doesn't like that J it’s for her own good too). And hopefully I will have time this summer to work on my portfolio as during the year it’s impossible for me as I have to go to work. I was impressed by Andreea’s motivation and wish to do all the outfits. She said “If I promised you that we’re gonna do all of them then I would finish today!”She’s a word person and on top of that I think she brought all her closet with her as she had 4 bags. No one would do that. I do appreciate it and I am very thankful for what she’s done!!

Last project for this year. I can’t believe this one is done already. This time next year I will be crying over the fact that uni is gonna finish. Sad times!! We should stop the time!!!1

My experience with Andreea

 As I said before, I have been hunting Andreea for a long time because she’s is really beautiful and first of all a model which means that she would be great for my ideas as I am starting to build my fashion portfolio.  I asked her to help me with my last project, with the dress, but she was not able due to the fact that she was working every day.

 So, how we managed to work together? As I said she is a model so she wanted to join an agency in New York but the people there asked for some pictures of her. So she asked me if I could help her. That was my chance to work with her so obviously I said yes straight away. That photo shoot was actually my very first paid shoot which I am very proud of. We had fun in the studio, she liked the images so she said that if I need her for another projects or things like that to let her know as she would definitely be up for that. I was over the moon. I didn't wait for long and a week after I booked my session in the studio, from 9 to 4. Because I was working every day, I only had 2 days to do my photos.

So that day was a marathon for both of us. Basically, I needed 10 shots, 10 different make up and 10 different outfits + hair styles . I was soo lucky as she knew how to do her own make-up and hair. She helped me a lot with creating 10 different styles. I gave her advice on the outfits and all done.

For the first set of pictures, she had to do her make-up and hair and it took like an hour. In the meantime, I did some research for some inspiration, what setting to use for the lights, poses etc. I have found lots of interesting things that helped me.

When she was finally done with everything we started shooting and I was literally amazed by how beautiful she was and so relieved that she knew how to pose and that she had the right attitude; she made my job so much easier. We took our time with the first 3 outfits but then we realized that it was already 1 o’clock so we had to rush to get everything done on that day. I must say again that she was a superstar for doing her hair differently every time she changed her outfit and it looked so good. I was mesmerized by how beautiful she was and I kept staring at her. I was so jealous because she looked good with anything she put on. It is not fair =).

Everything went very good, we had fun and had a good laugh but unfortunately there was no point in rushing. So I had to split the session and do only 5 outfits and leave the rest of them for another session The thing is..because we were there from 9 in the morning and we worked so much we were already very tired and especially her as she literally didn't know how to pose..like new poses..it was the same and I understood her and I tried to help with ideas. For the first outfits, I took lots of images but then, towards the end, I had like half because we didn't have time for more or energy.

But we did it in the end. It was 10 to 4 and we were finished. Yaay I was happy and relieved because we managed to do 5 outfits. We were exhausted but pleased we did it. We were a good team!!!

Then we came back in another day and did the same thing but this time we knew exactly what to do so it was easier for us. We even finished earlier than planned. Happy days!!

Technical things

I had the ”studio” settings : 125 with f/8 and ISO 100. I didn't use a tripod as it was easier to move. Also, I wanted to use the 50 mm my fav lens but unfortunately I couldn't borrow it from uni as it was already booked.  So I tried to use the standard lens. I used the white background, one light coming from her right, going down and the 2 fake walls because I didn't want my background to be lit. 

Overall comments

I am very excited with my new fashion photos. I believe it’s a good start for my fashion portfolio. Me and Andreea worked very hard and I am pleased with all the photos. She was a superstar for doing her hair and make-up with every outfit.

However, I would have to say something. Regarding my final images, the upper body looks great, it’s lit very nice etc etc but I for example didn't noticed the lower body which is the legs until I printed the images. So face looks great but when you look at the legs they are quite dark and not that nice to look at I think. Maybe I am wrong but still there is something that doesn't go well. As a note for myself for next time, remember to put a low light down as well to lit legs a bit too. Apart from that, all is ok and I like the photos and I am very proud of them!!!

10th set

We tried to do this set of images quite dynamic. Again, the contrast is good as the dress is red, it's quite a spicy red dress. We tried to simulate working with a ventilator so she tried to "make the dress fly" on its own. This was the last set. We were tired and hungry and we just lost our mood and excitement that we had at the beginning, even if it was a new day. But we managed to finish with all the photos sets, outfits, make ups and hair in time.
 It was like a marathon for us but I think we both enjoyed it !

9th set

Another set I love. She looks so good with the hair like that. She is glamorous. Because she has dark hair, blue suits her very well and you can see that from the images. The contrast is also good. I didn't want to use a powerful light on her because it would have ruined her soft skin and also the shade of the blue. This way, as I said, the contrast is very nice and helps her stand out.

8th set

As I said, no matter how she does her hair she looks stunning. She has a very good profile. We were heading towards the end of our second shoot so we were already tired. It was when she didn't know what else to do, she was running out if ideas in terms of poses but I tried to help and suggested some to her. I had this problem with the background paper, the part on which she was staying. It kept going up which was a pain. I have realized that I was so excited with the shoot that I forgot to look at details like the background paper or the lights etc. A good note for me for next time!!

7th set

This set is quite fresh and natural. This set is part of the second shoot. She's got something in her look that makes me come back to the images and look closer. The outfit is very casual. Again, the focus is on the face, that's why the light is directed towards her face, coming from above.

6th set

She is very stylish and she knows how to show that through her posses. She looks geeky with the glasses on but I love the way she looks. The second image is like an ad for sunglasses. I like that. I might start doing some ads as well. She looks very comfortable wearing those clothes and also, I can see that she is enjoying the modelling part. 

5th set

For this set, I only have these 2 photos because we didn't think that the dress was alright but in the end, when we saw the images on my laptop they looked ok. I like the shadow, and her face as well.

4th set

I love this set as well. I just can believe that anything she puts on, anything she does to her hair or face she looks so good. Sometimes you question yourself if its her or not. When I look at these images I sometimes have the feeling that they look like paintings. Someone told me that she looks like a pin-up girl, haha but it's amazing how she can create all these "new faces" and diff attitudes. Someone also told me that she looks like a girl from the 60s. I love to hear comments on my photos. It's interesting how people say diff things and how they actually see your work. I love the colours on the dress and how they look with the vignette that I added. 

3rd set

For this outfit, I wanted something more elegant.She even used fake eyelashes. She definitely knows how to pose. I love her attitude in all the photos. I love how the light drops on her back and you can see the muscles. She is very sexy. I used the same setup  for all the photos. I also like the close ups as they are quite intimate.