Sunday 26 January 2014

A touch of Hollywood glamour for Essex's leading lady!

 
Guest Blog Post by Tony Bramley from Storm Photography
 
 
One of Essex’s leading vocalists came into the studio recently for a Hollywood themed shoot and makeover for her new website. Allison Jennings approached us here at Storm requesting some stunning new portrait shots for her website and we were only too pleased to help. We called on local  hair and beauty stylists Tina Crossley from Beautiful Hair 4 Weddings and Emma Brooks form Emma Brooks Make-Up to transform Allison into a classic Hollywood Starlet for the day. With interests in Jazz and vintage music as well as current popular songs we knew this style would suit Allsion to a tee, and really represent her personality!
 



Allison has always admired the stars of the 1940’s and 50’s such as Veronica Lake, Jane Russell and Grace Kelly and so Tina drew inspiration from these classic movie icons to create a stunning new hair style for the singer. Tina started the makeover by adding some gorgeous blond hair extensions to Allison’s hair to give her hair extra inches creating added glamour and body. She followed this by curling the hair with big heated rollers to create bounce and lift. Finally, Tina created a wave across the front to finish the starlet look. Tina mentioned to us that this style is gaining popularity for brides and she see this as key trend for wedding day hair for 2014.
Next it was Emma’s turn to wave her magical make up wand with a look that would even make modern starlet Scarlett Johansson a little jealous. Emma started by giving Allison a Matt skin with soft contouring using Airbase to accentuate Allison’s naturally lovely features. Next matt colours were added to her eyes with flicked out eye liner wings to create a dramatic eye. A flutter of flirty eyelashes were added to finish the eyes. The final touch was a lashing of rich plum lipstick which nailed the movie star look.
 
Next it was time to do the shoot. For this I knew my Fuji camera would come into its element; so much so that I am using it for a current project I am working on for Hollywood lighting shoots. Most portraits seen these days are white backgrounds and lots of flooded-front-lighting used, which makes the results very flat but work fine for junior photographers who do not fully understand lighting and want an easy fast shooting session.  For this and other shoots, Hollywood lighting is all about crafting the light to the subject to produce creative shadow detail,  which is softened and shot in black and white to get that rich Hollywood glamour feel to the images and subject. This made the shoot slighty longer in duration but it was a creative process that produced beautiful images that although not modern are timeless. It will really suit the upcoming new look and feel of Allison’s website and marketing literature.
 
In 2014, we will be offering this as a Contemporary Classic package which is fine art portraiture for those wanting a more refined portrait to treasure forever.
 



 


 


 

 
 
 


 

Thursday 16 January 2014

How To Enjoy ‘Getting Ready’ For Your Wedding





So the day has finally arrived after all the months of preparation and detailed planning and as you wake up  on the morning of your wedding day, the final few hours before you walk down the aisle are here… its time to ‘get ready'!!


I am always being asked by brides, how long will it all take to get ready?  The simple answer is ‘Longer than you think’! It can vary, but you will need to allow at least three hours for your hair, make-up and getting into your dress. Remember that If your hairstylist and make-up artist have been booked to attend not only to you, but also a party of Bridesmaids and the Mother of the Bride, the process can take a great deal longer!  You will also need to factor in time for your photographer too, especially if you want to have the ‘getting ready’ shots or time for photos  before the ceremony.

The key to a relaxing and enjoyable experience is to have the morning planned carefully.  Having helped hundreds of brides to get ready, my  top tip for a stress free morning is to book professional help with your hair and make-up and have a trial for both a few weeks before so you know what you are going to look like and how long it is going to take. An experienced  professional will also be able to tell you how much time will be needed for the whole party to get ready and what time you will have to start. I always make a plan for my brides, that way they know they will be ready on time and they can relax!!

To see a typical example of what service to expect from your hairstylist  and make-up artist, take a look at this promotional video which shows a bride and two bridesmaids getting ready for a wedding and having a great time!

To find out more about my wedding hair service, visit me at www.beautifulhair4weddings.co.uk