PRO KIT
BACKGROUNDS
Mark says... My backgrounds
are affixed to the studio wall.
I have green, grey, white and
black ones, but we clipped up
one with a textured scene for
most of the Super Shots.
I create a lot of my own
backdrops too; I’ll shoot the
model on a flat backdrop and
add the background in post.
I’m always looking out for
suitable backgrounds. I love
street photography, and if I see something that I think would make a good background
when I’m out, I’ll shoot it. Camden market is one of my favourite places to shoot these.The textured background was a crucial part of the gritty
steampunk look Mark and Nathan were trying to achieve.décolletage was ever so slightly
overexposed. Thank fully, Amelia came to
the rescue. She quickly applied a thin layer
of makeup below Hannorah’s neckline and
balanced the tones perfectly. This was the
last piece of the puzzle and so Nathan
proceeded to capture Super Shot #1.
GET THE STEAMPUNK LOOK
Between scenes, Amelia took the chance
to touch up Hannorah’s makeup. She
explained that the order of a shoot is always
intentional to complement the hair and
makeup itinerary. “I build looks as much as
possible. This means I always start with
less makeup and build up to a more
extreme look. The makeup required in the
first setup was relatively basic, but as we
continue, I’ll increase the intensity of the
hair and makeup.”
Mark had placed a large vintage-styled
chest into the studio space and was busy
setting up a smoke machine. “I got the
chest from my dad’s house and thought the
smoke would add a bit of atmosphere.”
“Why don’t we fill the chest with smoke,”
Nathan suggested.
“Good idea,” said Mark. “When Hannorah
opens the lid, the smoke will billow out of it.”
Nathan took some test shots of
Hannorah opening the box without the
smoke, so he could dial in the correct
settings. Once he was ready, Mark shot a
blast of smoke into the trunk and shut the
lid. Nathan counted down from three, and
on one, Hannorah opened the box andEXPERT INSIGHT
MAKEUP ARTISTS
Amelia says... I can do six looks in a day- sometimes more! I asked Hannorah to
arrive wearing no makeup to give me a
‘blank canvas’. I like to start with a little
skincare and then move onto the hair
afterwards. Then, when I return to do the
makeup, the model is primed and ready.
I didn’t want to put too much product in
Hannorah’s hair, so I waited until she was in
costume, and Mark and Nathan were just
about to start shooting before I teased it
out. If I’m not working on the next look,
my main role is to observe the model
throughout the shoot and provide touch-
ups if and when they’re needed.
STUDIO PORTRAITS
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HOW TO:
EDIT A SCARY SCENE
FLOOR LAYING
Mark says... To ex te n d t h e b a c k g ro u n d
to cover up the wooden studio floor,
I copied a section of backdrop and
turned it into a Smart Object. With the
Pen tool, I selected the area of the image
I wanted to keep and turned this into a
layer mask. The Smart Object was
placed below, while I positioned it
with the Transform tools.SPOOKY SMOKE
Mark says... The skull-shaped smoke
was created using a brush pack, which I
downloaded years ago. The brush itself
looks like a skull, which you simply
stamp onto your picture. I then
manipulated the skulls using the
Transform tools (mainly the Warp tool),
which made it look like they were rising
ominously from the chest.BOXED IN
Mark says... The wisps of smoke are
my own brushes, which I created from
images I took of incense burning on a
black background. The red light was
simply stamped onto the image using a
soft red brush, followed by a smaller red
brush to increase the intensity in the
centre of the area.