Post-thunderstorm

So I guess it was about time to do a second photo shoot! Today my friend Katie came over to model for me, and our initial plan was to do it around 7 pm so that it would still be bright out but the sun wouldn't be too strong. However, at 7 pm we were in the middle of a thunderstorm.. but by about 8 it cleared up a bit and I think the pictures turned out better with the almost-sunset just-rained lighting!
Our inspiration for the shoot was from a page in Taylor Swift's Red album.

I was really happy with the way the lighting worked out on this one. My friend Carmela helped me a lot with learning how to adjust the features on my camera for when its really sunny, but since we had to wait til after 8 pm, I wasn't able to use the new settings I'd learned (I ended up putting the settings on auto). I'll definately be using it for my next photo shoot though!

I wanted the pictures to be soft and bright, so I used neutral colours for her eye makeup. I barely had to use any foundation because her skin was basically flawless. I used a bit of powder foundation to avoid glare on her face, and finished off the look with some blush and mascara. I curled her hair but brushed it out a bit to loosen up the curls and give a more natural look. (She also let me trim her bangs!) The lace shirt helped keep her looking soft but the bulky necklace gave her a bit of an edge so she wouldn't look too washed out.

Here are the makeup brands/colours we used:
-M.A.C. liquid foundation
-Physicians Formula Mineral Wear airbrushing loose powder (translucent light) - this stuff is fantastic and I would really recommend it.. I've been on the same container for 3 years and its only half finished, even though I use it every day!
-Revlon Powder Blush in 040 Softspoken Pink
-Rimmel London eyeshadow in 002 Smokey Brun
-Rimmel London Scandal Eyes flex mascara in 003 Extreme Black (my all-time favourite mascara)
-Clinique lip crayon in 06 Woppin' Watermelon (very subtle colour, for your reference.. I'm not sure I'd buy this again but it does apply smoothly)

For this picture, as well as the previous one, I blended the background in an attempt to draw the eye to Katie. The pictures both had a lot of colour and busyness, so I wanted to slow the image down.

The lighting was fantastic for this picture, but I had some trouble with her pallor. Her eyeshadow had gotten smudged a fair bit by this point, causing her face to have a greyish tinge. I had difficulty editing it back to normal, but I did my best.

The flower braid was a spontaneous idea, but I think it turned out. She reminds me of Aphrodite, or else someone from a Jane Austin novel.