SYLK Magazine May 2021: The INNER STYLE issue
As I've explained in my TOPIC & CONTENT blog post, my issue of Sylk Magazine will be portraying inner style. In that blog post, I explained in great detail the reason behind making this decision. In case you are interested in finding out why, click here.
*It is important to note that while both Ana and I did individual photoshoots, we assisted the other's photoshoot in order to be able to take 'backstage' and 'making-of' pictures and to help in any way needed.*
PHOTOSHOOT THEME, AESTHETIC & CONCEPT:
My idea behind this photoshoot was to portray fashion and lifestyle in a very creative and colourful way. Through my photos, I want to expresses boldness, confidence in one's style, art and creativity. While scrolling through the Zara app, looking at clothes, I saw a photo which really inspired me and which made me come up with the concept that I did. I love the natural way in which the model is posing, as if she does not care about other people's opinions. She seems to be confident in her skin and in what she is wearing. What I like most about this picture is the way in which the light reflects on the background and on the floor, after hitting the disco ball. Thus, I decided to screenshot the photo and to search on Pinterest, with the image searching tool. This allowed me to then see other photos similar to this one, which lead to the beginning of my mood board. After pinning many photos on my board, I began to see a common aesthetic: bright colours, reflecting lights, shadows, disco balls and glitters/sparkles. Therefore, I decided upon a more playful, party-like theme, which would hopefully inspire the audience towards embracing their inner style and having fun in what they are wearing, while feeling like their authentic selves.
MOODBOARD:
The mood-board seen below is a very condensed one, which consists of my favourite pictures from my Pinterest board (--which you can see by clicking here). I believe that these images showcase extremely well the vibe and feel which I'm envisioning for my own photoshoot. I would like to be more spontaneous and to see which angles, poses and shots look best in the moment. Therefore, I've decided not to plan any specific shots and to just take advantage of my location, models, props and camera in order to achieve the best end result.
MODELS
Due to the pandemic, Ana and I chose to both work with the same two models, in order to not get in contact to many people and to be safe. Therefore, we chose two of our friends, Sonia and Irina, which fit perfectly with both of our photoshoot concepts. I've worked with Sonia once before, for my preliminary work photoshoot, thus, I already know that we get along well when it comes to things like this. Also, she is a very naturally talented model. As for Irina, although I've never done any photoshoots with her before, I know that she has some experience modelling and is always very open to try out new things. Both of them have very unique features and expressive faces.
SONIA MANOLE IRINA CUC
Age: 17 years old Age: 16 years old
Height: 165 cm Height: 170 cm
Eye colour: brown Eye colour: green
Hair colour: dark brown Hair colour: blonde
Ana and I created an iMessage group chat, named 'Photoshoots', where we added both Sonia and Irina. This helped us get in contact with them very quickly and easily. I then texted them in order to inform them about my photoshoot and to tell them some additional information. On the right side of the screen, you can see two screenshots of our conversation.
LOCATION:
After narrowing down my photoshoot theme, aesthetic and concept, I started to look for locations which would be fit for it. I looked for apartments on Airbnb, Facebook and Instagram, while also taking into consideration the properties that my family owns and the houses/apartments of friends/family. I searched for places which had at least one blank wall (--no wall art or decorations) and colourful/unique furniture. The search took a couple of hours, but I managed to finally find the perfect location.
My step-mother has recently opened a retail clothing store, named IOOI, which is also a pick-up location for her online flower arrangements company, IOOI Flowers. When designing the store, she went for a very unique and colourful look, which coincidently, is exactly what I need for my photoshoot. Below you can see some photos of it (the bathroom isn't shown here, since it hasn't been photographed yet):
I love the way in which modern interior design concepts are combined with old ones. The apartment is in an old building, in the city centre. The brick arcade was constructed many decades ago and my step-mother chose to preserve it. The wall behind it was hand-painted by a very talented artist, who was able to incorporate traditional Romanian patterns in a very chic and beautiful way. The blue wall was a very unique addition to the whole ensemble, since the colour is extremely vibrant in real life, as it was inspired by Yves Klein's blue, named International Klein Blue. The white walls were decorated with posters which she bought online, all in the 'fashion' theme. The couch, chairs and mirror are all very classic and timeless. Two of the walls have a more industrial look since the initial wall was preserved. The two vanities provide a nice, modern touch to the place.
STYLING
In terms of styling, I am envisioning many different looks, consisting of : brightly coloured dresses, oversized blazers and shirts, long skirts, other unique pieces of clothing, mini bags, high heels and minimal to none jewellery and accessories. I have a lot of clothes like the ones seen below, in the mood-board that I, using photos I found on Pinterest. Sonia, Irina and Ana have also agreed to bring any item of clothing that they own, which resembles what I mentioned, in order to have a variety of clothing to choose from when creating each look.
Here is a photo I took while choosing the clothes I was packing for this photoshoot:
As you can see, I went for pieces of clothing similar to the ones in the mood-board above.
MAKEUP
For the makeup, I was thinking that a very natural and minimalistic face makeup combined with a simple, yet colourful and unique eye makeup would be perfect for this specific photoshoot. Since both of my models are naturally beautiful, I believe that this certain type of makeup look would suit them wonderfully.
PROPS
The main and most important props which I'll need are a disco ball, a ring light (since there won't be any natural light by the time I'll start taking photos), a video projector (which I'll use in order to project colourful images on the models and disco ball) and a couple of covid-19 masks (I want to incorporate them in my photos in order to give some contemporary meaning and relevance to my photos, and also because masks have become mandatory accessories to our outfits). I may use other props, such as colourful velvet textiles in my photoshoot, but these four are the main ones, which I'm 100% sure I will use.
BUDGET
Models: free
Location: free
Styling: free
Makeup: free
Props: --- disco ball: 45 lei (9.23 euros)
--- ring light: free, borrowed from Ana
--- video projector: free, borrowed from my form tutor
--- masks: 30 lei (6.15 euros)
TOTAL: 75 lei (15,38 euros)
Overall, I've taken into consideration the most important aspects of my photoshoot and have planned everything in great detail. But, I've still left room for my spontaneity and creativity to flourish.
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