picture | mareymercy.

Finally got to gussy up and take photos Saturday. I’ve kept the studio set up so I can hopefully get more done today or tomorrow as well, but they won’t require elaborate makeup next time as this took forever to create:

I’m supposed to look like a deer, but after I got the makeup on I realized I did not own a deer costume, so I had to improvise with finger-antlers.

The brown and white wig is new; it’s from Gothic Lolita Wigs, which is my favorite costume wig store. The hair fiber on this one easily tangled and was hard to comb out though, so it was a pain to use. As much hair-flinging as I like to do, I have to brush out my wigs every two or three shots to avoid having a massive rat’s nest by the end of the shoot, and this one was difficult to comb through every time. Bummer because it otherwise is easy to wear and I love the color combo.

I used a Speedlite behind me for most of the portraits; it’s become my favorite way to light tighter shots. I love the way it frames the subject and adds some depth to the background. I added a softbox to the Speedlite on my camera to help erase shadows on my face as well.

I decided to Pixlr this one up a bit.

I had a few costume changes in this set so this was just my first “look.” I’ll share round two tomorrow.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the last year. Some of them you may have seen before. Loads more on Flickr but I’m warning you – since their re-design of the site my page is just a mess. I hate the way they’ve organized member pages without providing the option of changing the presentation, but I love the community over there, so I stay. And yes, these are all photos of me, but I swear that is due to convenience and not vanity. Using myself as the subject matter means I can shoot exactly how want precisely when I want; besides, I am always game for a bit of dress up and costumery.

This set was the first time I felt I was getting the hang of the whole movement and motion thing; moving out of the realm of ‘hey look at me jumping!’ into using the body and what adorns it to create art.

That wig was about 35 inches long and I killed it in approximately 10 shots. Lesson learned was that when flinging a synthetic wig about for hours, one must stop and brush said wig every few shots or it will be ruined within minutes. You can see that it is already in its death throes here. Also, this is the dress I wore as a skirt in another photograph. No real reason for you to care about that, but now that I mentioned it you’ll notice it anyway.

This is my favorite wig, and I love it with the blue background.

I love asymmetrical details in costumes like this, visually it creates interesting shapes. I was trying to emphasize it by moving my body in strange ways.

Another favorite wig. I believe there is a little piece of heaven tucked into every hair bump.

Creating a triangle with my arms & wig.

I loved the shape my hair made here.

Sometimes a vintage dress surprises me with the shapes it creates. This is just a cheap 80’s secretary dress but with a crinoline and some movement it’s like a tiered cake.

Again, cool hair movement. Also thrilled with the color here.

Hair movement! Plus, these were the first shots taken with a softbox and I was thrilled with the results.

Loved the bit of lace showing and the fact that to date this is still the best makeup job I’ve ever done. I looked nothing like myself in these shots; something I always go for.

Sigh, the colors and movement here slay me. I’m a sucker for both.

Turns out there is such a thing as too much color and most of this set proved it. But I like this one. And some people feel compelled to point out to me when a hand or foot is cut out of the shot; I never do that on purpose but I don’t always get my whole body into the shot and I won’t abandon a good one because of it.

My husband, who never allows me to take his photo. I got him on a good day and what can I say, best shot ever.

I was sitting in a chair here but I realized while editing if I erased my feet it would create a much more interesting atmosphere. This is also a different color of my favorite orange wig – I believe I have 5 colors of this one.

This is one of those shots that makes people say “oh you are so graceful.” Which in turn makes me laugh. And laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

That damn curl wouldn’t stay out of my face so I had to go with it.

My favorite bump wig again. This is strictly a fashion shot for me – meaning what I love about it is the makeup, the hair, and the shoes; nothing more. Oh, and the dress.

I have a secret reason for loving this shot: if you look closely you can see that my false eyelashes fell off the lower lid of what would be my right eye (and to you, my left). And this is the first shot of the set, by the way – meaning I never even made it to the set without somehow screwing up the makeup I spent an hour and half applying. Typical.

My current favorite.

Playing with light, shadow, and a new Speedlite.

I got oodles of good shots from this set. I wanted to look unusually tall, so I pulled a sundress down to my waist and wore it like a skirt, then stood on a stool to make my legs look longer. Very hard shoot as the wig was heavy & tangly, and when not standing on that damn stool I kept tripping over the dress.

More playing with the Speedlite.

Another from the first “movement as art” set. On my head is a Red Riding Hood costume cape I picked up on sale at the grocery store. Started out with the typical jumping then got inspired to try pushing that cape to the limit to see what it could do. It did not survive.

The only time I ever successfully accomplished a jump that made it look like I’d been propelled backwards. Very hard to do and look graceful at the same time.

Pink dreadlocks and goggles – enough said.

First, I just like the movement I captured here. Second, right after this shot I attempted a jump that injured my foot and I was done for the day; for about two weeks actually. This was also the first shoot wherein I discovered Pixlr, and I overdid it a bit but had fun with the program.

The movement of the hair here thrills the shit out of me. Done by flinging my hair back when the timer went off and quickly shoving my hands down to my sides.