Part two~
Cosplayer: Lake-Fairy Creations (fb/dA/Tumblr) as Midna (original design) from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Photographer: SoulFire Photography (fb/dA/Website)
Makeup Artist: Regena Jackson
Okay, where were we…right! Mini typhoon caused us to relocated to Durham. Once we got to Duke Chapel, everything began to go quite smoothly. Sarah is ridiculously fantastic and was super patient the whole time. I really appreciated it! There’s nothing worse than a shoot that just gets delayed more than an hour or two because of uncontrollable circumstances. However, never let it be said that I’m not determined…and quite stubborn. At one point during the shoot, a modern dance performance finished up at a nearby auditorium, so we had a large stream of… very… curious people. I absolutely love it when curious people stop and watch, asking questions when we have some downtime. Unfortunately there were a lot of outdoor lights giving the shoot a Yellowish-green tint, which was a pain to deal with in post processing. It didn’t show up on my camera screen, but as soon as I opened the raw files in Lightroom…I wanted to scream. Luckily it was just a little color correction.
This was the second shoot I have done with my new 24mm lens I had ordered for myself as a graduation present and, while I have a lot to learn, I feel that I’m getting a decent grasp for how to properly use it in portrait situations. Unfortunately, my trusty Sb600 imploded. Again. So…instead of getting it repaired (like I did at the end of May) I just got a new one. The cost of repairs was getting to be more than the cost of the lens itself…which is absurd. Then again, I got it second-hand from a friend of mine. So it’s not like I paid full price in the first place.
So, as per Sarah, not only is she a fantastic cosplayer and seamstress, but she is so patient and easy to work with. She has a great grasp of her character and comes to the shoot with plenty of ideas, I really do regret not working with her any before this past May! Our paths hadn’t crossed before…I don’t know why. But I’m so glad I finally got to work with her.
The quality of her cosplays is fantastic. The details that pop out in close shots, the lines…everything fits fantastically…I just can’t say enough good things about her.
My assistant was the lovely Kaitlyn. She has been accompanying me on quite a few shoots lately and has a fantastic eye for detail. Sometimes I just…overlook the small things because I’m so caught up in what I’m doing. NEVER underestimate the value of a great assistant. Seriously. It helps the shoot go smoother and there is a greater potential for fantastic shots because you have someone to bounce ideas off of and more outside input.
Sarah’s Makeup was done by Regena who (in August) is a fully certified Makeup Artist and has been working with makeup for … many, MANY years. She works quickly and efficiently and knows how to work with any skin and facial structure. I love collaborating with her, and I really wish I could do it more often! Her rates (for convention makeup, including body paint and detailing, etc) are ridiculously reasonable. If you ever need a makeup artist, I will point you in her direction. She’s fantastic!
OMG! Sonja is so fantastic! And THANK YOU Regena for the wonderful make up! And Kaitlyn was amazing with spotting little details that needed fixing and making sure everything went smoothly. Everyone was so wonderful, this was one of the best photoshoot experiences I have ever had!!!
