My Wash & Dry Advert

My Final Wash & Dry Advert

I am so happy with how this advert turned out, from the gel lights, to the styling, to the model choice! I was so happy with how the makeup and hair turned out and have written about how it went in my previous blog post titled 'Wash & Dry Makeup and Hair Look'. 

Lighting

My biggest concern when doing this photo shoot was the lighting set up as in my practice shoot I was not happy with how the lighting looked. I wasn't sure what colour I wanted the background to be and I wasn't happy with how the coloured gels were showing up on the model. However this time I made sure I did lots of research into using coloured gels with photography until I was happy I would confident enough when I got in the studio. I chose to do the background colour orange because I wanted it to represent the warmth of the summer sun surrounding the model. I did this by using an orange background and then using two lights of even power with spill kill heads on the light up the background. I decided to position a blue light coming from the left, positioned very high up and facing down at the model because I wanted it to represent the blue reflection off the water from the pool or the sea water. I wanted this to be high up so it could catch her face as she tilted it back and it would also contrast and meet in the middle with the red light on the other side. I decided to position the red gel light to the right and slightly in front of her and coming from a very low angle because I wanted to use a contrasting colour to blue and I thought the red would represent the high heat of the summer sun. I love how the blue and red light work together because the blue brightens up the front of the model, including her face, and then the red acts as a fill light and adds some warmth to the model. I didn't want either of these lights to be too strong because I didn't want the image to look tacky, but I am happy with I got the right balance within this image so make it look fun, but also professional. I used barn doors on the blue light because I didn't want any light to spill onto the background as I wanted the background to be perfectly orange. I found that the model's face was looking slightly dark and I wanted the makeup to be more visible, so I incorporated a soft box, with a low power, to come in on the left, in front of the model, to brighten up the face slightly more and I love how it did just that! It didn't interfere with the coloured lights, but just lightened it slightly. 

Prop and Model Positioning

I am so happy with how all the props are positioned because I think they balance each other out. I played around with how to position the props, with the model holding the ice cream and having her resting her legs on the inflatable balls; however this was my favourite. I like how she is holding the ice cream as if she is too glamorous for it because she looks very confident and in control. I like how I have positioned two smaller balls on the right of the main ball because they are all different sizes so it looks random, but also they balance out the ice cream so make the composition look more even. I am so happy I kept the colour scheme small because there is so much going on, I thought it could easily look messy. I considered having the model laughing and acting natural; however this is not Mac's style. Mac tend to have their models in a very fake position, as if they know they are posing for a photograph. I wanted her face to be very composed because I wanted her to look like a plastic doll. I like how the model is arching her back so much because it is very flattering on her figure, as it makes her waist look smaller and her behind look more curvy. She definitely looks like she is posing for the camera because she doesn't look particularly comfortable, so I really like that she looks almost like a barbie doll. I like that the advert almost looks like an advert for a themed barbie doll, as if she comes with these accessories. I didn't want my model to have eye contact with the camera because Mac's models in their collection adverts never do. I like that it means that you aren't necessarily drawn to the models eyes, but are instead drawn to the makeup and not the person wearing it. 

Styling

I love the styling for this shoot because it plays with fun, neon colours, but still looks glamorous. I like how I chose a swimsuit instead of a bikini because it looks a lot more conservative and professional, but the bright neon pink colours adds the youthfulness and fun to the look. I like that I only used block colours for the styling because it looks so clean and sharp; I think any pattern would have looked messy. I like that I chose very bold and contrasting colours for the swimsuit and shoes because it makes them both look bold and stand out. I also like that it encompasses the essence of Mac, that it's bold, bright and in your face. I like that I included high heeled pumps in this look because it adds a sense of sophistication to the look; whereas flat shoes or no shoes could have completely changed the look of the advert, making it look more fun and playful in a young and less mature way. 

Makeup/Hair

I am so happy I chose to keep the makeup very bold because I wanted it to be visible even if it was a full body shot. I like how the makeup has also been done in block colours because it looks very sharp and structured to reflect the bright block colours in the rest of the shoot. I love how the skin on her face and body both match up with a beautiful dewy glow because she looks like she has been laying out in the sun, getting a natural summer glow. I like that the dewy skin also almost makes the skin look plastic because it makes her look like a human doll, which is the look Mac goes for; dewy skin is also a popular 2016 spring/summer trend so it keeps the advert current! I like that I used blue on the eyes, along the eye liner, because it ties in the blue ice cream and the blue light to give more of an aquatic theme; blue eyes are also a predicted 2016 spring/summer trend. I like how glossy the lips look because they look so luscious and plump, which is a popular look for Mac; the glossy lips also continue the dewy/shiny plastic look. I love how the hair came out because it looks youthful and playful, but also sleek and sexy because I made the braids very tight and neat and I used hair oil to give it a wet-look. 

Editing/Text

I love how I edited the image because the mode's skin look so flawless and doll-like! I edited the skin more than I usually would when I edit because I wanted the model's skin to almost look like shiny plastic. Mac always edits their models to look like perfected dolls to I wanted to portray the same fake, dream-like look. I edited the model's body by distorting it slightly to make the model look slimmer and I love how natural the results are! I liked how the model looked before editing; however I wanted to make her look more model-like and closer to the weight of the models they use for Mac adverts. I chose to position the text in the middle of the image because this seemed to be the most common way that Mac displayed their text in their collection adverts and I wanted there to be some continuity. I chose to colour the text white because I wanted to give a clean look and I thought the white would stand out against the colourful, darker background.