Of sharks & jets: A modern day westside story inspired shoot - Lakeland, FL portrait photographer
When Matt and I went home for Thanksgiving, I had the wonderful opportunity to help a VERY talented friend make up her mind as to whether or not she would have fun styling people. I've known Amanda for YEARS (you can read her blog here), and she's not only amazing at dressing herself and dressing her super cute anthropologie-esque apartment, but she's amazing at dressing others, too. We got together, and with our pinterest inspiration board in tow, she took everyday clothes from Chloe & Blake's closets and created a look inspired by West Side Story and Best Coast's music video, 'Our Deal.'
With help from my amazingly talented cousin, Nicky Horne from All I Need is One Mic, we were able to pull the whole look together.
[intro]FROM NICKY ON MAKEUP DECISIONS[/intro]
I loved the look we created for our West Side Story inspired photo shoot! We couldn’t have had a cuter couple model for us! I wanted to create a modern makeup look that also had a retro feel. The biggest retro elements I used were winged liquid eyeliner and red lips. Winged or cat-eye liner is VERY tricky, but here are a few tips to make it a little easier while practicing:
Tips for creating a cat eye with liquid liner: 1. Use pencil eyeliner first as a guide before using liquid or a felt tip liner 2. Take your time and use short strokes while lining the eyes 3. Start from the inner corner of the eye working your way outward 4. Practice, practice, practice!
And to create that perfectly painted red lip: 1. Start with smooth lips free of dry skin 2. Put on a little lip balm or chapstick (this makes for a smoother application) 3. Use a lip liner to define and then fill them in with the liner 4. If using a lipstick, use a lip brush to apply the color
[intro]FROM AMANDA ON STYLING THE SHOOT AND MIXING PRINTS[/intro]
This shoot was inspired by images of teen gangs from the 50s, the film, “West Side Story,” and a slightly depressing Best Coast music video. Styling something like this means you have to think in terms of nodding to 50s trends while making these teens look cool, badass but sweet, and still relevant.
Mixing prints can be tricky, but if you pull it off you end up looking so cool and interesting. And I really mean interesting in its intended definition, not the way you use it when you don’t know what else to say about something clearly awful.
Tips for Trying the Trend:
Try mixing bolder prints with subtler ones. I like to think of one of the prints as almost a pseudo neutral. In Chloe’s case, the subtle print was the dress. The circle pattern is light and delicate and doesn’t compete too much with the plaid.
Make sure there’s something that unites the pieces. For Chloe, the color red was what made this outfit look cohesive. The red of the dress was picked up in the red stripes of the plaid.
Keep it simple. Which seems like weird advice considering I’m helping you go against years of lessons about matching your clothes, but seriously. Chloe only had on two pieces, which kept the outfit clean.
Clearly, Amanda and Nicky are awesome. And so were our models. Seriously, this was one of the best shoots I've ever been on. Maybe it had something to do with the cute little apartment we got to prep in, or maybe it had to do with the charm of this particularly delightful group of people. Either way, it was amazing, relaxed, and most importantly, FUN. With that, I hope you enjoy the rest of the photographs from the shoot.
