I was very excited to shoot for Garnier Hair Color for Al Aniqa (Zahrat Al Khaleej). Shooting for theses brands the brand identity is very distinctive and it was important that it was kept in line with the international brand look & feel but suited to the Middle East market.
Garnier Look & Feel
Keeping this in mind when incorporating it in my shoot I went out to look at our site. We decided to shoot on site at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre. The hotel has a very corporate feel to it with lots a geometrical angles to it. Valeria Mertsalova, Public Relations Coordinator at The Ritz-Carlton was my contact people. A lovely woman who showed me around and indicated which places I could have access to. As this was a busy hotel we have to keep in mind that guests privacy comes first and we would need to work around this aspect. For this reason we decided that we would be shooting outdoors for continuity but if there is an opportunity we would shoot indoors.
Hotel Details
Our team was made up the lovely Dina Yassin, with whom I have worked with before and sweet Katie Cousins, a freelance hair & makeup artist. Our lovely model was Carol Webb from Mansion Models. We had a great time shooting together and was able to get 8 different looks for the client. They were very happy with the result.
Dina suppling us with the clothing credit numbers!
My trusted assistant Evelyn posing for the test shots!
Katie adding some finishing touches to Carol’s hair
I want to thank Valeria for been such a gracious host and looking after us! Also to the great team who helped put this shoot together and big thanks toSouha Abbas, Manager, Special Editions (Publishing) – Abu Dhabi Media for allowing me to be part of Al Aniqa editorials!
Photography Belinda Muller
Hair & Makeup Katie Cousins
Styling Dina Yassin
Assistant Evelyn Garcia
Model Carol Webb (Mansion Models)
Location The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre
Here are some extra photos from the shoot! See you all next time!
"AL ANIQA - 70's Flashback" Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
“AL ANIQA – 70’s Flashback” Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
"AL ANIQA - 70's Flashback" Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
“AL ANIQA – 70’s Flashback” Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
“AL ANIQA – 70’s Flashback” Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
“AL ANIQA – 70’s Flashback” Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
“AL ANIQA – 70’s Flashback” Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
"AL ANIQA - 70's Flashback" Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
"AL ANIQA - 70's Flashback" Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
” AL ANIQA” Zahrat Al Khaleej Magazine
“AL ANIQA – 70’s Flashback” Zharat Al Khaleej Magazine
70’s Flashback! Extra Shots
70's Flashback! Extra Shots
70's Flashback! Extra Shots
I had the wonderful privilege of working again with Souha Abbas, Manager, Special Editions (Publishing) – Abu Dhabi Media. She is a wonderful client who has allowed me to experiment on my shoots and supported me in my photography. The summer look for 2011 definitely has a strong 70’s playfulness feel to it. So I decided to take this element further and incorporated the look and feel further into the hair & makeup as well as styling.
Moodboard – Look & Feel
We had originally wanted to shoot outdoor and in the end decided to shoot in a studio. Hot Cold Rental was a natural choice as these guys have a great support network and always open with advice. I also had my first experience working with HMI lighting and I must say I’m hooked. After discussing with the guys my lighting setup they advised me on the HMI lights. They truly give a beautiful daylight which you can add fill as you see fit.
Studio setup - HMI Lighting
Our team consisted of the wonderful Toni Malt (Hair/Makeup), Cindy Coleman, (assistant (Hair)), Natalie Trevis, models Alex Pianka and Paul Frangie from Bareface. It was first time working with the lovely Alex P and she was a real star and professional. A real French Beauty. I have had the privilege of working with Paul on my Kurv Editorial and was delighted that we could worked together again. We had amazing clothing and accessories and was able to really pull out the stops in terms of colors and textures.
Accessories for the shoot
We managed to get 17 shots from the shoot which was a lot considering 4 background changes and was extremely happy with the final result and the team. I want to thank everyone who made it all possible. Great work guys!
Photographer: Billie Muller Makeup & Hair: Toni Malt @ Bareface Hair Assistant: Cindy Coleman Styling: Natalie Trevis Models: Alexandra P and Paul Frangie @ Bareface
Here are some behind the scenes shots from the shoot
Hi Everyone! Listening to my fellow creatives, I am happy to hear that there is a positive creative buzz in the air and that everyone is busy. I have been busy myself with editorials which I’ll be blogging about in the … Continue reading →
I’ve been wanting to do a shoot with a male & female model based on the novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, but with a modern and contemporary twist. Loved the book & movies but the best was Kate Bushhaunting rendition of Wuthering Heights that topped the mood of the story! Our shoot’s location was the perfect backdrop for the story, an old rundown fishing village in Ras AL Khamaih, UAE, full of textures, warms shades against a beautiful blue sky!
Toni, modeling for us!
The team working to get the shot!
Set up some mood boards regarding look & feel and had a brainstorming session with my good friend and fellow creative Toni Malton what we envisaged their hair & makeup should be. We agreed that we wanted a semi androgygnous look to tie in the “sibling romance” but still keep the look current & modern.
I had a specific look in mind as the models had to be similar in a way! Paul, our wonderful male model graciously offered to model for us for the day! He is a real find here in Dubai, with his exotic looks which is quite rare here, he been half Lebanese, half Dutch! He is an up and coming model who has been picked up by quite a number of editorials but also a lovely person and great professional. Stefanie, our female model is one of my favourite models that I have worked with to date! Having worked with her before on previous occasions, she is the consummate professional and a sweetheart! Once again the lovely Natalie Trevis was responsible for the styling of the shoot with clothing ranging from Marc Jacobs, Diane van Furstenberg, Iconic, John Varvatos, River Island and Savage.
I used a mixture a daylight and strobes to fill in the shadows in some shots. Some just the silver Sunbounce, others the beauty dish with a 1/3 stop diffuser as the light was quite harsh during midday! I also used a polarizer filter to give the lovely blue sky a bit of extra pop. On our sunset shot I use the Profoto 7b pack with a Wescott softbox on a direction angle. Love the Profoto lights, they really do give an even spread of light!
I usually do my own retouching on my shoots but wanted to branch out and test the waters so to speak! After looking at a couple of retouchers’ work I decided to use the services of STUDIO AW based in San Paulo, Brazil. Their clients have included L’Offciel Brazil, Santa Lola, Vogue Brazil, and Elle Brazil to name a few. I really like their finishing, subtle and not overdone which is sometimes a big problem in this industry! The owner Alex is a lovely creative who sat patiently for hours with me as I went through the retouching process with him.
The highlight of this shoot was it was picked up by KURV Magazine Australia. We were all super excited at this great news. Cant wait to get our hands on one of the issues as it’s not available in these shores! Thanks to Nicholas from Kurv for allowing us to be part of this great issue!
Thanks to an amazing bunch of creatives who made this wonderful shoot possible! Here are some extra shots from the shoot!
I had once again had the privilege of working with the lovely Stefanie Ost on a sports shoot for OK! Magazine. I have worked with Stef on a couple of shoots and am always impressed by her professionalism and grace in the way she carries herself! A true professional and a lovely one at that!
We were fortunate to have a great place, The Dubai Ladies Club to do our shoot in. Literally! Not everyday that an empty swimming pool comes to you disposal! After looking at the other facilities available to us we opted for the pool as the colors matched perfectly with the neon colors of the sportswear. The weather was great and the sheer net across the pool gave enough shade and diffusion to the high sun.
I used my trusted silver sunbounce for a high fashion look and pumped 3 speedlights in as fill on occasion to balance the light in Stephanie’s face. Toni did a great job with hair and makeup especially with the paint brush. I’m really enjoy working with her as she is always dedicated and willing to try new things and has a thing for “props” as yours truly. I always smile when I hear us talk about our adventures getting our props together for shoots!
Jen Haward from OK! Magazine was our stylist for the shoot and she brought with her an array of lovely items to work with. As always a joy to work with. Thanks to OK! Magazine ho published the shoot!