Shooting an editorial for Picton Magazine was an enjoyable experience, and getting the front and back covers made it absolutely awesome! Picton is a fresh, up-and- coming fashion magazine which showcases a variety of editorials and features with various themes within the fashion world. The issue for which we were shooting was the “Sensual” themed issue, which focuses on fashion and art photo stories that are sexy and even steamy yet also elegant, tasteful and beautiful.
For about a week before the shoot, I prepared my body, putting in extra time at the
gym and avoiding all unhealthy foods, to ensure that my body would look its very best from every angle in a bikini. As our theme was to be a bright, sun-kissed goddess feeling, I did also tan three times that week, each for about forty minutes, to bring my
regular very pale skin to a golden state with some color in it. I rotated between different cuts of bikinis to avoid tan lines as much as possible (you have to think about these things as a model!).
The shoot, as with many beach shoots, was at sunrise. My hair was actually done by the stylist the night before, and I had just done a shoot for a hair extensions company about a week before the shoot so it was very long and a red gold shade was mixed with the blonde, fitting the theme even better. Nonetheless I had to be started with makeup at 5am as well as hair touchups, and call time at the beach location was 6 to be ready for the sunrise time of 6:30.
The beach was lovely in the morning but so windy that my hair came immediately uncurled and there was no hope of correcting it. Fortunately, the wardrobe was swimwear and the accessories were large and very heavy necklaces, so I was able to show them off in many images in the shoot without concern of the wind.
I shot in bikinis, sometimes in a top and sometimes without. The beach was very empty, so I did not feel uncomfortable, but it made me aware that I needed to pose carefully in order to ensure we got tasteful images that would be accepted by the publication and that fit with my genre of modeling (I am generally a mainstream fashion model and do not pose for anything overtly risqué).
I sought to use my poses and expressions to portray a seaside nymph or goddess, basking in the sun, bathing in the warmth of the morning, natural, relaxed, ultra-feminine and effortlessly sensuous. I twisted and turned my body to create and enhance my shape in a way that didn’t look forced, and keeping my expressions soft and dreamy, often looking away from the camera. These approaches helped enable me to remain distinctly sensual in my posing without becoming salacious, particularly when posing topless.
Because of the natural light, coming fully and brilliantly from one distinct direction,
I had to be sure to keep my face towards the sun in a flattering way, but I turned my head to several different angles nonetheless, sometimes looking up in full profile, sometimes slightly off, sometimes slightly down, and occasionally straight.
Between the intense wind, all of the blowing sand, the light, it being barely 7am and the focus I had to place on balancing my posing somewhere between leaving the viewer wanting more and giving the viewer altogether too much, I had a lot to focus on and was exhausted (and in desperate need of coffee!) by the time the shoot wrapped. In the end, only one look of several that we shot ended up in the publication, but it made both the front and back covers, for which I was ecstatic! The designer utilized the rest of the images for her own marketing and I was able to include them in my porfolio as well. It was an enjoyable editorial shoot experience and I was delighted with the results!
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