CONCEPT
When a depressed young women discovers a mysterious treasure at the beach, the world around her opens up into a million possibilities, and she is finally prepared to explore her future into the unknown.
Theme: freedom, enlightenment, possibilities, adventures into the unknown, transitions
A young woman explores her backyard, collecting shells and treasures.
WARDROBE
The wardrobe resembles a 1950’s night gown which needed to look soft, romantic, and sweet. I wanted the character to look at home at the beach, as if she were walking along her own backyard.
HAIR & MAKE-UP
The nineteen fifties was an era of cat eye eyeliner, rosy checks, and a bold red lip stick. I decided to keep everything except for the bold red lip. I wanted the character to look dressed but causal.
COLOR PALETTE
I knew that I wanted the colors of the images to be muted and antiquated, but to bring attention to the character, I opted for a maroon robe to separate the subject from the underplayed background.
These color swatches show you the color progression in the project. The project starts in monochromatic muted earth tones, but by the end of the story we return to the natural colors of the landscape.
PROPS
Symbolism: At the recommendation of my make-up artist I decided to purchase a 70mm lens ball from Amazon. At first I didn't know how the crystal sphere would fit into my story, but after a lot of brainstorming, I discovered that the lens ball was a perfect metaphor for what the character learns at the end of the story. To me, the crystal ball is the representation of all the life possibilities in front of the character. The ball itself is unexpected, it’s clean and clear of darkness, it encompasses all the colors of the rainbow, and it’s circular shape makes me think of the cycle of life. By the end of the story, the sphere gives the character the security that she needs to know that she will find her new direction in life and that she doesn’t need to fear the unknown world before her.
Portuguese Beach is a quick hour and a half away from busy San Francisco.
LOCATION
Originally, I wanted to shoot this project at a sunny beach in Los Angeles. I thought that the warm aesthetic of Southern California was a perfect contrast to the character’s cold, internal struggle, but luckily for me I didn't get what I wanted. Instead I found something far better. I shot the project at Portuguese Beach in Bodega Bay in Northern California. I had passed by the beach many times before with my family in our traditional long drives up the California coastline, but this time when we drove by I knew it was the perfect location for the project. What made this beach perfect was that it was secluded. The beach was surrounded by a cove, and it provided my character with the perfect safe haven for her to contemplate her life. A crowded LA beach would have never given me the quiet and comforting atmosphere that I needed for the project.
A detail before and after shot of skin retouching.
POST PRODUCTION
In order to continue with the 1950's aesthetic, I played around with creating a very de-saturated and antiquated finish to the images. I wanted the images to look as though they had been sitting in a photo album for a long time. However, the story ends on a high note when the character discovers that she has a new direction, and it's after her epiphany that I began to add more color to the final shots of the project. This shift in saturation represents the clarity that she finds by the end of the story.
Because the images were going to be de-saturated, I knew that I needed to find a way to call the viewers’ attention back to the character, and I accomplished this by dressing her in a maroon robe. The maroon in this project represents pain, not love.
CAMERA SPECS & SHOT DESIGN
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: Nikor 50mm 1.4
Filtration: None
DOF: f/4.0
SS: 1/500
ISO: 100
WB: Kelvin 5500
Personal Accomplishment: I am very proud of this project because I approached and executed the project in the same way that I would execute a film. By this, I mean the following,
- I blocked and designed my shots before arriving to the location and made a point to stick to my shot list. Thinking of the various shot angles and framing ie. over the shoulder, close-up, detail shot, medium, wide, etc.
- I understood and maintained the 180 degree rule.
- I shot the majority of the project as a landscape, the same way we experience films.
- I was able to visualize the project in a linear storyline rather than a series of aesthetically pleasing shots.
- The transition from image to image feels fluid and the project cuts well; there is a natural sequence and flow to the series.
This image shows a very early version of my shot design and blocking.
PC: Jessica Clark
LIGHTING SPECS & DESIGN
Season: End of winter early spring
Time of Day: 9:00am call time,11:30am at location and food, 12:00am-2:00pm shoot.
Lights: the sun
Another proud accomplishment for me is that the project was shot with all natural light with the occasional addition of a white poster board.
Because I put in the time to scout my location, I was able to track the sun and decided how and where I was going to place myself for the shoot. This saved me a lot of extra stress and time on the day of the shoot and allowed me to focus on making sure that I had all the shots that I need for the project to cut well together. I decided to shoot over the model’s right shoulder, used the sun as a natural rim light, and used a white poster board to add fill to her face.
SETTING THE MOOD
I’ve loved this song for years and was initially drawn to the nostalgic, melancholy of Goldfrapp’s voice and the acoustic guitar. Aesthetically, I was very drawn to the black and white treatment, low contrast and use of expansive wide shots. This song perfectly captures the melancholy and nostalgia that I feel for the character.
DREAM TEAM
Photography, Retouching, Wardrobe: Alicia M. Blair
Hair & Make-Up: Jessica Clark
Model: Jenny Kuykendall
To view the final project, please click on the link below
https://www.aliciamblairphotography.com/memories-of-portuguese-beach#1
Thank you for reading!
Alicia M. Blair
