Cotton Therapy

This is one shot that after many, many attempts suddenly grabbed me and then didn't let go.

Shooting a model eyes closed is a well-trodden path, and that's risky since it will need that special something to set it apart from everything else.

Once I decide on a concept idea, I focus only on that particular shot for many days. I had envisaged a modern Marie-Antoinette twist, but knew that hair style would require patience, fitting makeup and in this modern twist, tattoos. As they say, an idea is one thing, execution is another and with the hair needing to be in perfect balance with the makeup and tattoos, this could fail.

We went over several hair styles and finally settled on sculpting it into a beautiful cotton bun that we managed to hold together with a thin hairnet which - if you look closely - you can still see in the final photo. The tattoo is almost alien-like, an intentional contrast to the era of Marie-Antoinette. We complemented vertical lines in the tattoo with black flower earrings with small pendant chain dangles. They are the perfect find.

The final framed piece has an even bigger visual jolt than I had hoped for. I am confident this will be a talking point and transform a room. I should know, it is on my home office wall on my right as I write this.

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