Credits
Photographer: Doru Amariucai
Makeup Artist: Alexandru Abagiu
Hair Stylist: Geta Voinea
Model: Andreea Diaconu
Client: Beau Monde Magazine (Romania)
Comments from Doru follow the images. Click on any image to see it larger.
Photographic comments from fashion photographer Doru Amariucai:
This shoot was made for Beau Monde Magazine (Sanoma Hearst Group – Romania). I have worked with this magazine on a number of occasions for over two years. The magazine was aware of my track record as a beauty photographer in the industry, and it helped that I had also done work for other magazines that are part of the Sanoma Group (Cosmopolitan, FHM).
The magazine approached me with the basic shoot concept, and then we worked closely together to develop the idea and bring it to reality. I have worked with Alex (makeup) and Geta (hair) on previous projects, and for other advertising projects for Proctor and Gamble, Elle Magazine and others. So assembling a team was easy; it didn’t take too much time to coordinate, as everyone knew their job.
I felt it was important with this kind of project not to duplicate the same things others do with the same theme. Therefore I emphasized to the team that we did not want to create a cliché set of images, because there is so much image material today on the market. With the explosion of images these days, it’s difficult—but important— to avoid that happening. Alex did a great job in coming up with the solutions on how each and every photo should look like. And Geta made sure the hair complemented both the theme and the model. When you have such a good team by your side, you’re just the guy who lights the shoot! The team is everything in these kinds of jobs.
We worked with a florist on set, since the flowers were such an important element to the shoot. The flowers had to be natural—not plastic stuff—and fresh, and we needed a florist to supply them to the studio right on time. They tend to wear out very quickly, so if you are not prepared while the flowers are still fresh, the whole shoot can be a waste of time. They also had to be positioned correctly, and we used some plastic foam to stick them into, and some gaffer tape to fill with more flowers in between (you can see some of the foam in the behind-the-scenes shots below). Also the position of the flowers surrounding the head was a little tricky, because we needed the flowers to come closer to the face of the model. So we used two separate pieces of foam at each side of her head.
Andreea (the model) is famous both locally and internationally, and was perfect for this kind of shoot. The moment we knew she was in the country, the magazine booked her for the shoot. We began in the morning around 9 am and I think we finished at around 5 in the afternoon. We shot this in a small studio, with about 80 square meters (260 sq ft), which was perfect for this kind of shoot.
I shot this with a Canon 1DS Mk II camera and the lighting equipment consisted of MultiBlitz flashes, grids and a beauty dish. The lighting was simple: a beauty dish covered with 1/2-stop diffuser on a boom arm. And when the shoot required another flash, it was with a head with grid and barn doors, to accentuate the colors of the flowers.
Compared to a fashion shoot, a beauty shoot is sometimes simpler in the preproduction stage. There’s not a lot of wardrobe to be concerned about. No shoes we have to worry about damaging,no electric generators and large amounts of equipment to transport to a site. On the other hand, I must pay much more attention to such small details regarding the make-up, hair, and lighting. If just one element is not perfectly choreographed, it can ruin the entire shoot.
Positioning the flowers took us a few good hours. The light had to be directly above the face of the model in some shots, which proved difficult. She was lying on an inclined wooden platform, which made moving the base of the light stand difficult. Over time, some of the flowers started to lose their freshness, so we had to keep them on the balcony where it was cooler, bringing them back in right at the shooting moment. But all in all I have to thank everyone, the model, the hair and especially the makeup
artist for the whole wonderful day and shoot. Alex also did a great job with retouching the final images; he always does when it comes to his makeup sessions!
Behind-the-scenes images from the shoot:
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icecream???
Wow,great works.love these photograph!
Jun 05, 2010 @ 10:25 pm
Kathy
Love the close up photos. Perfect lighting, and great color on the makeup as well.
Jun 10, 2010 @ 7:48 am
Endless Moments Photography
Wow. Great photos. Very good quality and absolute beauty. Keep up the good work!
Jun 19, 2010 @ 8:05 pm
Janty kissox
Well an excellent photo shoot i must say…That is what called the perfect usage of light. Nice talent! Keep up the good work!
Jun 23, 2010 @ 11:56 pm
Witney Accountants
BEAUTIFUL! excellent stuff!
Jun 29, 2010 @ 4:06 am
Photography
Look at the makeup man. He is looking so handsome, right?
Jul 11, 2010 @ 11:35 pm
photospain
Excellent images, I Love the close up photographs, thank you very much for sharing
Jul 20, 2010 @ 6:54 pm
High School Senior Pictures
Wow! excellent photo! I love the last photograph, the one that the model is closing her eyes…she looks like a princess in that shot and her make-up adds vibrant look to the whole photo. Canon 1DS Mk II is great!
Jul 21, 2010 @ 1:31 am
Traveling artist
Omg, what a color! I also like listed making of/backstage pics. I often make those too when my main work is done.
Would love to see more of such pics in the future!
Jul 26, 2010 @ 6:57 pm
Best Compact Camera
Congrats!!! Well deserved and you truly have the eye for very beautiful pictures.
Jul 27, 2010 @ 11:57 am
Ricky
i envy you for working with such beautiful models haha, nice photos mate.
Aug 20, 2010 @ 5:33 am
Jenny
This photos are Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent and nice photography
Aug 24, 2010 @ 3:13 am
Avi
the best picture for me is the last one. the model looks so innocent on that picture and her make up is simple.
Sep 06, 2010 @ 7:47 pm
Timothy
Love the colors, composition, sharpness. Great shots.
Sep 22, 2010 @ 6:26 pm
Jacob
I love these pics! Simply beautiful.
Sep 30, 2010 @ 11:34 am
Firenze
Great set-up techniques using the backboard and the lighting.
Mar 02, 2011 @ 8:23 am
Sara
This style of photography is amazing. The lighting was near perfect. The first picture is a great one, but the best is by far the third. The way the water drops are displayed in the photograph was beautiful.
May 01, 2011 @ 3:37 pm
Corey
I would have liked to see exactly how they got the water drops so perfect. I’m wondering if some of that is post production smoothing?
May 16, 2011 @ 8:28 am
Madison
This is a masterpiece. I thought that you are on some kind of a location. Great use of light. Nice photos.
Jun 01, 2011 @ 11:05 pm
Tom Hawkins
This is one of a kind! Great headshot photo! This is sweet
Jun 21, 2011 @ 10:47 am
Rey Albor
Seeing the model laying on the floor was a big surprise! Not so glamorous. I just got professional photos of my baby niece in almost this same pose! Laying strewn with rose petals. It is priceless.
Jul 12, 2011 @ 10:42 am
James Kenny
Great shots and really interesting article.
Dec 15, 2011 @ 3:46 am