A Twist In The Fairy-Tale

Last weekend I did a creative shoot for my friend Cherie. I've been eager to do a 'fairy-tale' type shoot lately, and Cherie was keen on the idea too, even though she'd never done a professional photo shoot before.

From past location-hunting, I knew the forest near the Kloof SPCA would be the

perfect location, with its mystical trees, wooden bridges over gentle streams, sunlight peeking through the leaves, and pools of water.

I offered to do Cherie's make-up and decided on a more natural look. Often more is more in photos, but this time subtlety felt like the right choice. We went through some clothing options, tried a gothic black dress, but ended up sticking with an earthy green/blue look instead that stood out beautifully against the forest background.

We decided off with the sparkly shoes, and our fairy-tale princess became a forest-dwelling nature girl instead. It just worked better for Cherie. But something was missing. My assistant was quick to hand over his "bling" - a necklace and bracelets - for Cherie to wear. The green crystal necklace looked great and completed the 'tree girl' character.

Aware that Cherie had never done a professional shoot before, and that the camera can be daunting, we spoke a lot, made her laugh and relax, and soon she was posing like a pro model.

So my planned 'fairy-tale' theme became more of a 'nature girl' theme in the end - but I think it was for the best! Sometimes, despite your plans, you have to let a photo shoot evolve naturally, you have to go with the flow, and you end up with better pictures in the end.

I added a little post-production magic and colour adjustment to give the pictures a timeless quality, and I'm pleased with the result.

Thanks to Cherie for walking through mud, lying on uncomfortable roots and being a great sport.

Before we ended the day, Cherie and I decided to have a friendship shoot. @rowanstuart was kind enough to assist and take some lovely shots for us.

Check out the full size images on my PORTRAITS page.