Finding inspiration for concept shoots can come from anywhere…magazines, Pinterest, etc.  But this session below was inspired by a very popular movie, and movies are a great source of inspiration.

Amanda Mae of Amanda Mae Photography created a senior photo session inspired by Snow White and The Huntsman.  She specifically was inspired by the character that actress Charlize Theron portrayed, Queen Ravenna.  Amanda said she loved the contrast that is evident throughout this movie, black with white or white with black.

Check out what else Amanda had to say about this beautiful photo shoot below and read how she created the looks, found the location and completed her vision with this shoot!  Thanks so much for sharing Amanda!!

THE INSPIRATION:

Obviously, the inspiration came from the movie, Snow White & The Huntsman. Now, not because I’m a super huge Kristen Stewart fan; although I am a twilight fan, shut up, I live in washington for crying out loud…OMg I haven’t even been to forks yet…OK, back to it….So, the inspiration came from the stunning, woman crush herself, Ms. Charlize Theron. If you haven’t seen this movie, you totally should. The cinematography in this movie is so awesome, one of my favorite things was how they play on contrast, black with white or white with black…Like that Bath Milk Scene…GENIUS!

I really wanted to try and incorporate that type of contrast as well as create an amazing silhouette that is Charlize as Queen Ravenna. That’s where the wardrobe and attire came in, Ill go over that in a bit. The start of this inspiration came from the Queen Character herself, because 1. She is just STUNNING in this movie, 2. The Costumes were just amazing!! and 3. The movie was really awesome filmed wise and plus Thor was in it and so I was a happy camper lol.

THE WARDROBE:

The wardrobe was a combination of client’s closet, older items, diy and even Etsy items. We worked together and collaborated to create this look right down to the braid crown, dark nails and apple. I really wanted to embody the feel and look of Queen Ravenna, which is why it was so important for me to make sure I had the right outfit and accessories without being too cheesy. I didn’t even want her to have the evil “red lips” because it was so dare I say…cliche and hence the pale lips, plus in the movie the queen is totally all this amazing bronze make up anyway. Ok, lets hit the details of everything now….

The Feather Collar:

The MAIN Focus, besides my senior, who happens to be my Model Winner by the way..BOOM! was of corse the feathers. I wanted a collar and contemplated making it by purchasing feathers and everything myself haha, crazy I KNOW. But Lucky for me and my sanity, I found it RIGHT ONLINE! Etsy is a wonderful thing and I’m so glad Jesus made Etsy for us!! 😉

Anyway, I purchased it for like $65 bucks and it was soooo worth it. I can totally wear it like several different ways and if you look in the pictures we have it on her three different ways; upright, flat out and even around her waist (see red fur jacket pics). So this was a total steal and find for me and worth it because it just added that wow factor, helped with my contrast but more then anything, it create an amazing silhouette, which is AWESOME!!!

The Long Tutu Skirt:

Ok guys, seriously, the EASIEST thing EVER! So, I went to walmart, picked up their entire spool of black tutu, some thick elastic and a pair of scissors. I hot glued the elastic to create a band for her waist, then i began to cut strips of tulle. THAT TOOK FOREVER and so I went all ghetto….yes I did. I busted out the stapler and started stapling the tulle  straight to the elastic band…So, I know what you’re thinking…Wont it scratch the girl…NO, Ill get to that in a min.

So, here I am, late at night, stapling with pink staples haha. With in like 35 min I was done HAHA. Now, it wasn’t the prettiest skirt; but it was JUST ENOUGH to be able to add that look and effect I wanted. My elastic band was white, so I just used some clone stamping to fix that :). Yay for PS!!

The Dress:

So, my senior has already an amazing style, Im mean serious, that red fur jacket is REAL and is her grandma’s from BACK IN HER DAY, like really??!! That woman’s got some mad style. So, anyway…The dress you see, is actually one of my senior’s prom dresses. It’s a short dress that has a lot of volume already and we simply just put the tutu over it at the waist (see it wouldn’t scratch her). That was it. She was wearing her black jeans and boots under everything because of the snow haha.

The Hair & Makeup:

So, yea this…well…I did it. The night before I did a quick tutorial on how to generate a hair braid crown and we did not use extensions, it was totally all my senior’s hair! YAY! For the make up, I wanted to really have her eyes pop but not over power and same with the lips. Of corse we couldn’t forget the famous apple, I tried to shoot it in almost natural poses not like the Twilight Cover, cause everyone gives apples like that right?! Its ok, Edward could give me an apple like that…Just kidding Honey, I love you my husband! 😉 HAHAHA. So yea, I did her hair and makeup lol. Popped on some false eyelashes and earrings and we were off!

We drove about an hour to get to some snow that we were crossing our fingers and praying for, because we didn’t even know if it would be there lol. The shoot was awesome and it was everything I had envisioned in my head. It was so much fun and so worth the planning, late nights and prepping. lol Seriously, fun!

I always like to be encouraged and so I’ll encourage you….If you want to do something, do it. I think the thing that I have learned is the preparation and planning. Yes, I used staples and hot glue, but you didn’t know that until I told you haha and my senior had an amazing time and isn’t that was it’s about? I mean besides making a living lol. What stops us from getting out there and just doing what we want to do? Maybe its fear, or people or whatever…but at the end of the day, it’s your business, your work, your art, make it your own and give your seniors that crazy gutsy amazing experience that only you can! ROCK IT OUT AND KNOCK IT OUT!

So I hope you enjoy it and can i do a commercial on this??? hahaha Hey, well, here I go…Holding a workshop all about how I work with my clients right On Set and shooting and all super awesomeness…so come and get AMPlified with me in san fran…click here  haha.

OK thats it. Be encouraged and get out there and make some pretty rad and awesome things!!