Are you guilty of going out shopping to buy an outfit but a beautiful necklace or earrings gives you pause? Let’s say you find a dress but there is a superb hat staring you in the face and it has your style written all over it. Need I remind you you’re only supposed to buy “After Five” attire, but have you ever had a pair of heels make you question your purpose for leaving the house? What is a woman to do?
All I kept thinking was RELAX Lyd, RELAX. And that made me tense up ….. SOOOOO my photographer and his wife decided to make me giggle. Which is not difficult. They made faces, noises, and tried to help loosen me up! I think it worked! I hope. I really tried not to try. 🙂
For this shoot, I knew I was going to have to do all head-shots. To me, trying to sell something like a hat or jewelry is all about looking comfortable, natural and making the colors work. You want the viewer to see themselves in what you’re wearing…
I was really excited when I heard this week’s challenge was to model the accessories we were sent. I was sent this wonderful leopard print statement necklace along with a cream color newsboy hat. From the moment I saw the necklace I knew that for my hair, I wanted to do some type of updo. When researching hairstyles, I came across Janelle Monae and I fell in love with her pompadour. I had to try this style! The first thing I did was divide my hair in sections. I then sprayed each section with water and applied Going-Naturals Silky Shea Hair Butter to my ends. Once I had done this, I detangled my hair and combed it out so it would be easier to twist. I achieved this pompadour look by starting from the my nape and twisting upwards towards the top of my head. When I got to the top of my head I used bobby pins to pin down the sides of the twist and then I formed a little poof with the free hair and also used bobby pins to pin it down. A quick and easy style which resulted in a very fashionable and protective updo.
Å la mode can mean served with ice cream but also means “In Style” or “Fashionable”. The two pieces I was given for this challenge are very different but also very bold. The necklace and earring set compliments each other but also is the “item” that everyone would talk about after an elegant party or event. One thing that I love about bold accessories is wearing it with something simple to really bring out the detail as well as match the makeup to really emphasize the colors. I can see others and even myself wearing these accessories to really be a “head turner” and a fashionista at a big event. For the second half of the pictures I decided to change my hairstyle to a turban, to showcase the versatility of wearing the jewelry with a different style. By showing that even if you wear a scarf, hat, or any other accessory, the jewelry can and WILL speak for itself and be just as striking. For me personally, I love being able to wear jewelry with not just one look and by shooting these two looks I wanted to advertise that the jewelry can be worn with multiple styles whether it is a twist out braid out, up do, or scarf.
It’s a chilly time of year and many of us (even in L.A.!) are reaching into closets for our coziest winter wear. I’ll be honest. This is the time of year you’ll hear me singing in the shower, “Sometimes I shave my legs and sometimes I don’t; Sometimes I comb my hair and sometimes I won’t!” along with naturalista India Arie. When everything is covered up against winter’s frosty bite, I get lazy about the details. Who cares if nobody sees, right? This week’s challenge reminded me that, as natural sisters, there’s no need to hide our light under that proverbial bushel when the weather turns cold.
I really had fun with this shoot. I’m currently working on my MBA and I am concentrating in marketing so this shoot really pushed me to think about what my photos needed to portray in order for the products to sell. I also looked through magazines and tons of photos for similar products. I made sure not to wear any other accessories other than the hat and the necklace because additional accessories can often distract the audience from the product.