American Woman Mad Max
Muah: Kara Cantrell
American Woman series, embracing and uplifting women.
Feb, 2018Views
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Awards
Action Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
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9Teen Award
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in my hometown of Daleville, IN. Most of the time people have never even heard of Daleville, IN. It's a very small town that is tucked away between two larger cities. I spent most of my childhood there and my Mom still lives there. It will always be home.Time
If you look at photos from the Mad Max movies, most of the shots were in the desert, in full sun. I wanted to try and keep that same feel during the photo session, minus the sand of course! HaHa My MUAH artist and I worked with three different models for that day. One model was photographed mid day, the other one mid afternoon and with the third model (pictured above), the clouds came out giving a very moody feel unlike the first two models. It was very cold out and it may not look like it in the photo, but she was shivering most of the session.Lighting
This photo was shot late afternoon after the clouds had come in, hiding the sun. This is my favorite time of day to shoot. It gives a very moody feel, but yet a gentle softness that embraces the photo. I personally love shooting late afternoon, but have been trying to embrace full sun photos as well.Equipment
Honestly, I don't have any fancy equipment. I used my Canon 60D and rented a Canon 24-70 f/2.8 lens for the session. The clouds were my light diffuser. I placed the model at different angles, different poses to create a variety of shots. This photo was one of my favorite from the series. My MUAH Artist, Kara and I gathered chains, buckets, a fire barrel (which had a real fire burning in it), oil cans, skulls and furs to build the set.Inspiration
A couple of years ago, I started a project series (with the help of my MUAH artist, Kara Cantrell) called American Woman. I wanted to create photos to help inspire, uplift and encourage women from all over to feel beautiful and to find their brave. The first photo series I had women from all walks of life who talked to me about their struggles in life. Each woman had hair and make-up done and a photo session. For most of them it was very outside the box. I had women who suffered from abuse, both mentally and physically, women who lost a child, women who were fighting terminal illnesses and women who just felt like they weren't enough. The first series of photos from the project were turned into a calendar and the proceeds went to a local women's shelter. I have gradually started adding new themes to the series from Rockabilly, to Vintage Boudoir and Mad Max. I plan on exploring more themes and ideas to keep the series going. In the fall I plan on having an art show with the Women's photos to raise awareness about abuse and mental and physical illnesses.Editing
I use Photoshop to edit my photos. I use a combination of actions and hand editing. My favorite set of actions are from Greater Than Gatsby. They have a variety of actions that range from dreamy and silky looking to more vintage painterly style actions. This photo was edited to give a more muted rustic feel with a matte finish. I usually take a photo and start editing with a few favorite actions until I come up with a "recipe" and then hand edit the final image. Sometimes I use the recipe on all the photos in the series, but other times I will see a photo that gives off a different vibe so I create a new recipe to fit the photo.In my camera bag
Haha! I carry all kinds of things in my bag. I like to use 2 cameras during my sessions, each with it's own lens. It makes it much easier to switch back and fourth instead of having to swap the lenses out. I have two Canon 60D's, a Canon 50mm 1.8, a Canon 100 macro lens, a Canon 15-85mm (which I barely use anymore), a Ring flash, some bells (for the kids--haha), a remote, mosquito spray, hand warmers, lens cleaner/cloth, a couple of rain covers for the cameras (they are super cheap, but do the job in a pinch), batteries, Peanut M&M's when I am on the road (Hey chocolate is important), and business cards. I usually always throw in a bottle water for road trips as well.Feedback
Follow your heart! I know that probably sounds so cliche`, but seriously it's so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing. As artists we tend to follow trends to stay ahead, we focus on what is making others successful. Follow your own heart, what makes your soul light up, what makes you stay awake at night, what deepens your desire to create. It may be something so off the wall from what everyone else is doing, do it anyway. Just create. I love creating Fine Art Photography, but it's definitely not something that is popular in my area, nor do people really want to pay for it, but it's my passion and as long as I keep moving forward no matter how small the steps, that is success. Be prepared to make mistakes, be prepared to have days where your work just sucks. It will be okay. You are going to get burned out, your going to struggle, just don't stop creating. No matter how big or small. Take a break when you need too. Breath! Listen, there is only one you and your heart is unique, no one else can claim that. Be You always!
