Photo Shoot Success

Hi everyone! It’s me Magic…. My plans were to blog everyday regarding the photo shoot but I became so busy with everything that I was not able to… Anyhow my photo shoot was Sunday and it was a GIANT SUCCESS!!! All of the models were gorgeous, and everything flowed really smoothly. The pictures are BREATH TAKING and I can’t wait to get my hands on the CD!

I enjoyed working with all the models and the photographer (Keston Duke), Keston was very knowledgeable and I learned a lot…. The makeup artist (Make up by Andrea) was also FABULOUS! We were able to get everything done by 3pm! I will post a few of the photos soon.
Photo shoots demand a lot of your time, planning, and energy (not to mention $ $ $).

Here is what happened from start to finish…The first thing I did was hire a photographer.
For those of you who do not know a photographer I suggest you find one who specializes in whatever type of event or shoot you are conducting. When I came across Keston, I was calling him to ask him just that and decided well if I am shooting beauty work, why not use the best person in this area (Keston Duke), and I am so glad I did… For those of you who don’t know, Keston has done shoots for hair giants such as my mentor, Miki Wright, Patric Antonio Bradley, Barry Fletcher, and Salon Sense Magazine. He has had numerous covers on Black Beauty, and work appearing in Sophisticate’s Black Hair monthly. Check out his website: www.kestonduke.com

Now that I had a photographer, I began the planning phase, counted up cost, mapped out the hairstyles I would be creating and wrote everything out… I even did a dry run on my mannequin of each style and took photos.

The next thing I had to do was find wardrobe, well since this was a bridal shoot; I had to find dresses (wedding dresses). Well my first thought was to use a designer and loan the dresses for credit in the magazine publication. Well that didn’t work out and it just became frustrating. All of the driving around, phone calls and no one came through. At this point I was on the phone to both (Miki—my mentor and Keston—the photographer), telling them about the frustration of trying to find dresses. They both suggested consignment shops, thrift stores, etc. Well I took their advice and went to Salvation Army and when I walked in the door, there they were! It was like the dresses were meant just for me because I asked the manager what kind of deal could I get if I was buying 5 of them since they were marked $50-$99 each. Well I end up paying about $30 each for them, and the same day I walked out with 5 dresses.

Then I had to find out how to have them cleaned. So I called David’s Bridal and asked if they cleaned dresses, and they said not if you didn’t buy them here… When I explained to her what I was trying to do, she asked me to bring them in and she would tell me how to clean them. SECRET: She told me many bridal stores take the dresses put them in a body pillow or sheet, pin it up and put in the washing machine on gentle cycle and wash with OXI CLEAN… Now the ability to do this depends on the fabric so if you are on a budget like I was, make sure you consult a professional before you try cleaning a foreign fabric yourself. Well I followed her exact instructions and the dresses came out perfect! I steamed them and they looked like NEW!

Well then I had dresses, hairstyles but no models… Well Keston put in a casting call and we got so many responses I hardly knew where to start. Keston was a great help on this part. He pretty much hand selected each one of my models and what a great job he did.

The next thing I had to do was make sure I had a makeup artist. This process was VERY TOUGH for me and what I learned was, when you are selecting someone that will be working with you, they have to desire success just as much as you. They also, have to be gracious, humble, and willing to take constructive criticism if necessary. I also wanted an artist who viewed this as an opportunity just as much as I did and not as if they were doing me a favor because it was a time for print/cd assignment. After all, they were reaping the benefits of me paying all the expenses and getting the BEST portfolio (coming from KESTON DUKE) not to mention being published in THE LARGEST hair magazine in the US…. The above qualities my first two selections LACKED in one way or another… Then I thought to call Andrea… Andrea use to be my student in cosmetology school, and she loved makeup back then. As far back as I could remember she was always gracious, humble, professional, even then… So I gave her a call and luckily she was free and I am very happy I did…. Her personality and attitude is GREAT, and THE MAKEUP WAS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!

Then I had to find someone to be my helper for the day, and since I was in “assistant limbo” I called on a friend of mine DIANE and she was a GREAT help! She ran around helped models get dressed, assisted “busy Keston”, “busy Marta”, brought breakfast, helped unpack, repack and about a million other things I probably didn’t see her do.

Thank you MIKI, KESTON, MODELS, ANDREA, & DIANE for making all of this possible!!! I could not have done it without you and we made an amazing team.

I will be posting a few of the pictures soon so stay tuned…


P.S. I received word from Keston yesterday that Sophisticate’s wants to order ALL of the photos he has submitted to them! I am so excited!!!! I will announce what issue in 2009, soon….. YEAAAAAAAAAA