Last weekend we had our first Photo House Challenge - we're calling it a 'Fine Art Bridal Shoot.' Last winter we did many of these challenges which helps keep our creativity flowing and brings our creative community together. When we started brainstorming ideas for this challenge we landed on a bridal shoot because we are working hard to break into the wedding market and with spring just around the corner if felt like the perfect challenge.
Phi and I arrived at our studio at 10am with coffee and doughnuts; we began clearing out our space and setting up a few areas of the studio for our guest photographers to create in. We had our classic white wall, blue vinyl backdrop and empty spaces throughout for the photographers to work with.
Monique, the owner of Mitten Floral came in the night before to drop off a beautiful bouquet and a curly willow branch and stopped in again Saturday morning to finish up her designs and to hand off a beautiful hairpiece. There is a true art to creating beautiful floral arrangements and Monique has certainly mastered it; she chose to use keep the it fresh, spring and organic. We used viburnum, local anemone, Rose's, dried palms and grasses with ranunculus.
The Pretty Committee got to work at 11am transforming Kara into a beautiful bride. After seeing the dress from Spring Sweet they chose to go with a romantic and natural look. Nicholas did her hair half-up and braided with soft loose curls, while Emily perfected Kara's make up to give her a naturally glamorous look.
While The Pretty Committee worked their magic the photographers walked around Elevated and became more acquainted with our studio space. Some of us chose to use props from the shop while others decided to keep it simple and focus on the 'bride' herself. This is the first time Phi and I had met many of the people joining us in this challenge but something we found really awesome was how connected we all were.
Meghan
Once Kara was ready to go Meghan was the first to shoot.
"When I was preparing for this shoot I knew I wanted to capture as much of the flowers as possible while keeping the pose and facial expressions pretty neutral. I started with Kara reaching up toward the curly willow branch, once I was satisfied with those shots we did a couple prop swaps, I tried a white vintage chair, and used a mirror but ultimately Kara reaching for flowers on the Willow branch were my favorite. She has a delicate look and seems to be in deep thought. Once I sat down to edit this photo I originally wanted to do more in Photoshop but the more I tried to do the less I liked it. Keeping it simple felt like the best route to go, Kara is such a natural beauty, I didn't want to take away from that."
Miguel
"I chose this photo because of its simplicity, I highly considered a b&w version because of the mood of b&w photos, but the color shows more of what's going on there and complements the beauty of the bride just right."
Phi
"I wanted to do a different background because it offers more contrast and it would allow me to work with it more in Photoshop. Originally this photo had the willow branch but I felt it had to much noise, by removing the branch it keeps all eyes on Kara."
Brad
The Pretty Committee toned down Kara's makeup for this last photo by Brad. He wanted her beautiful complexion and natural beauty to shine through in this photo. He focused on lighting placement and asked Kara to move freely to capture this beautiful image.
BE SURE TO CAST YOUR VOTE ON INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK! 1 vote per person, tell us why you chose that photo and a share to your stories can get you entered into our drawing for a $25 gift-card to Elevated.