@portraitcontest! You can continue reading a pointless story about the process of making this photograph and some background thoughts or just scroll down to see the finished product. The choice is yours!My models must hate me.
I put way too much make-up on their otherwise stunning faces, I let them bleach their brows sometimes just to draw them back on differently and I like them all better with their long hair tied up in almost sculptural updo-hairstyles.
Sometimes, I dress them up in tin foils and trash bags and let them wear sky high platform heels saying "If I can wear them, so can you!". Wow, I must be really fun to work with...
But hey, my brief training as a hairdresser & stylist paid off, I can do that shit myself... Guess that's something...?!
I work with concepts, the themes of those concepts are recurrent and I use these personal fashion/concept photography projects as a way to deal with all the shit that accumulates over time. I incorporate hatred and aggression into the shoots to create something bold and I want my models to look pissed at all costs, but proud at the same time. You could say that my models become an abstract and extravagant visual depiction of whatever I feel and I seem to showcase my models in a way I'd like to be myself.
Smiling is overrated and I know I'm trying too hard and everything's been here before. I know, I know.
I actually wanted to keep this short and I'm failing again... Ok. Some time ago this year I rented out a huge studio in the outskirts of Salzburg (where I used to live for three-ish years?! Oh Jesus, the nostalgia is coming back!) and made some magic happen with my muses/models and tried something different (that means ditching the use of tin foils) while dancing around the rooms to the beats of The Killers and drinking way too many energy drinks and ordering sushi while smoking too many cigarettes and slowly forgetting what the world outside the studio looks like.
We had four models that day, four catchwords and four different styles. My favorite look from the session can be seen below.
So finally, here's my #portraitcontest contribution:
Now to the technical side of things, cause everybody seems to do that: Taken with my trusty Nikon D750, I do not remember which lens I used and don't even ask me about the settings. Getting that info requires way too much energy which I don't have – It's quite late while I'm typing this and I'm sorry. Edited and messed up in Photoshop.
And yes, my real last name is long and badass. Deal with it.
As always, any feedback is appreciated. Wanna see more fur coats in the future? Just let me know. 🤷🏻♀️
Peace & Love,
– Stacy, The Cool Cat (whose real name ain't Stacy, but it's been her nick for quite some time so she sticks with it)
