Being an entrepreneur has its numerous ups and downs, one of those "UPS" is getting to do things that you truly enjoy. I love making jewelry and working on our current "PERLE COLLECTION" was a blast but I think I love photo shoots even more. Maybe its because I wanted to be a model when I was younger and my dad forbade it, or maybe it's getting to see the pieces I created being worn, who knows!! Anyways, I enjoy photoshoots, I love prepping for them, thinking up ideas and planning how to execute my vision.
For this photoshoot, I really wanted to go the opposite route of our summer shoot. Strip everything down to the bare knuckles. No props just the models and the jewelry. The question then was, how do i make this interesting and a little unconventional?
A few weeks went by and no light bulb ideas. Then during my devotional one morning it came to me, "BODY PAINT" (my devotional time is an amazing source of inspiration, it always amazes me how ideas concretize during that time), I instantly fell in love with the idea.
I had no previous knowledge about body painting apart from being an avid FACE OFF fan in the past. I didn't know how I was going to execute this idea but I knew it would be an interesting experience.
I stopped at my favorite store for theatre makeup and props Associated Theatrical Contractors (ATC) and spoke to them about the idea. They were awesome as always and had great tips and advice for me on how to go about painting, what type of paint to use e.t.c
My first stash of body paints for the trial run
My models/friends were Katie and Arianna (both personal trainers). Jake, Arianna's husband helped with airbrushing the body paint on and thank goodness too.
Katie and I had done a test run a week prior and I was convinced I had my technique down with a fool proof plan on how to proceed with the body paint. Come D-day, Jake shows up while I'm air brushing, takes one look at my so called technique and takes over.
I wouldn't have been able to pull this photoshoot of without him. Funny how God always send what you need even when you think you've got everything covered.
Here are some behind the scene shots from the photoshoot,
Katie before the body painting
Jake coming to my rescue LOL
Check out the space heater, turns out body painting in winter can be a cold endeavor
That's Austin my friend/photographer who took the amazing pictures I can't wait to share with you
Katie and Arianna are such a blessing
I've always wondered what I would look like if I was darker skinned :)
Austin touching up some spots on the body paint. Check out that neck piece!!
This was the most fun shoot I've had to date and it stays true to my quirkiness and the vision I have for my brand.
As I come to the end of 2017, one of the things that's being reinforced in my journey as an entrepreneur is to continue to stay true to who I am, keep taping into that thing that makes me different and push the limits of that difference.
I can't wait to share the final pictures with you.
Thanks for reading Zuri's