Steam Punk Alice
Jun, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at an environmental education center in Greencastle, PA. They have all of these pretty trees lines up perfectly that I thought what be just perfect for what I had in mind.Time
Typically I love to shoot during golden hour! I knew I had a little wiggle room since we were in a treed area so this was right before and during golden hour.Lighting
I wanted this image to feel magical - like a fairy tale almost. I chose golden hour because I knew it would give me the look I was going for. I avoid using a flash if I can.Equipment
Nikon D610 with a 105mm macro Nikkor lens.Inspiration
I had borrowed the dress from another photographer - I had an idea in my mind and worked really hard to put out what I was envisioning in my mind. The more I thought about it the more my ideas changed and then came together. This shoot took about a year to completely come together; until I have totally happy with the ideas that I had in my head for this. The model is my 4 year old daughter. She does such a great job and requires little to no direction. I knew I wanted to emphasize her long hair so I crimped it to make it a little more poofy than normal. That idea led me to thinking I'd like to do a little more steam punk AND fairy tale style. I made the belt myself using brown leather and an Alice in Wonderland trinket I found saying "We're all mad here". On the other side of her belt is a pocket watch and a little bottle saying "drink me". We already owned these awesome brown boots so I knew they'd look great with the belt. I made some simple lace cuffs for the top of the boots and her wrists, and added some peacock feathers to the hat to give it a little more oomph. The smoke bomb was the final piece to bring it all together!Editing
Besides cleaning up the photo a little I added a little bit of makeup to her face (she had no makeup on for the shoot) and to give it a fairy tale feel I darkened it and added a little pink to it.In my camera bag
My main camera is a Nikon d610. While I love shooting with my 85mm and 50mm Nikkor lens I wanted some SUPER amazing bokeh which was why I used my 105mm macro. It did the trick and gave me exactly the look I was going for. I also always have my 35 mm and plenty of SD cards, batteries, cleaning cloths, business cards (you never know!).Feedback
Take chances, try something outside the box, don't do what everyone else does. These things will make you stand out. I also think it's important to step away from weddings or portraits for others every once in awhile and do a fun or interesting session just for yourself. I am constantly learning and soaking in more information anywhere I can. My husband will often accompany me when I photograph our daughter and the one thing I always tell him is to just let her be. Let her do her own thing, don't try to pose her. The unposed, natural images are the ones I LOVE the best! When she started to play pretend with the tea cup and plate it was because she was imagining and playing not because we told her to do it. You will get genuine reactions and facial expressions that way.
