Hi, I'm Julie ... artist, photographer, potter, etc. I am so happy you are here! I consider this blog my creative journal where I can share my recent work, ideas and dreams, and lots of little details about my life. Please make yourself at home. Whether you are a bride-to-be, a photographer, or just a visitor, I hope you will find inspiration here and even become a friend. |
Here is something very unlike what you normally see on my blog! I actually shot this styled session back in August for two reasons. One was that I just LOVE photographing these people ... and two was that I wanted to do something different!!!
This is Brooke. No, this is SCARY Brooke!!! (You may or may not recognize her from her engagement session and wedding earlier this year.)
I really didn't have Halloween in mind when I was looking for inspiration for this session. I was scouting for the perfect location ... and found this amazing tree with red leaves. Don't forget this was in August ... no other trees in east TN had red leaves. But this particular location was special because this tree was in a cemetary. Old Gray Cemetary to be exact. It just happens to be the most haunted place in East Tennessee. Maybe that explains this one tree with red leaves ... but I didn't want to think about the haunted factor. I just loved the colors!! The colors you see in the following image laid out the color scheme for us.
It was actually Brooke's idea to do a session inspired by Tim Burton ... something a little kooky and edgy. To keep the session from being too dark ... I knew I would need a model who could bring that level of quirkiness to it. DUH!!! BROOKE!!!! Brooke can do any look ... she is stunningly beautiful, poised, elegant, but has a certain quality of silliness, joy, and fun.
For the "beauty" portion of this session Brooke had this fancy vintage dress that was stunning in that late evening light. Paired with some pink azaleas in the lush green grass Brooke was just breath taking! I also want to add that she did her own make-up and hair - changing it a little with each look.
That's my red tree in the back ground. These are the colors I see in my dreams.
There is just nothing dark about Brooke. Forget she is walking through a graveyard. There is something about these that is just ethereal and lovely. Is that a ghost orb in the left image just below Brooke's right hand? Scary!!!
The last look and my favorite look ... was this elegant and simple black dress. I love Brooke's hair ... and she actually made that veil with some netting that she found at my house. And this just happens to be the best light of the day.
That amazing golden light doesn't last long ... it wasn't a few minutes before we were pretty much out of light. Which forced us to work with some off camera lighting and really changed the look of things. Here are two of the same shots with totally different light.
What is scarier than a mirror in a cemetary? You never know what you might see in the reflections. Eeek!!!
Don't worry ... it was just Jonathan. And it was time to include him in the rest of the session.
I love this couple.
And then it was officially too dark to shoot with available light only. So we did some scary back lighting. And yes, we were wandering around in this cemetery in the dark. I wasn't scared at all, I promise.
Happy Halloween everyone!!! I am happy to say that I am taking the next two days completely off! Nick and I are renting a cottage at Cumberland Falls State Park. We plan to spend the next two days hiking, enjoying the fall, and each other's company. Someone save me some candy!