parasitegirl | Oct. 18th, 2009

Oct. 18th, 2009

You know what photographers really like? They like my skin...and veils.

Tim spent a lot of time explaining to his troops the sort of extra steps you usually have to go though with a caucasian model to make their skin look unblemished, smooth, and porcelain white for fashion shoots and performance shots when that's the desired look...and how you don't have to bother with that or process later for it when you've got me...cause I am that white.

I will post the details later, but I worked with three photographers I'd never met before (two shooting digital one shooting 120 film) Henna couldn't make it and nor could the makeup artist...and it was still a great shoot.

Tim was aware of the work we'd done before and decided it was time to shoot me on a black background to pop my skin and the colors of my costumes and so the troops could learn about lighting dark hair for a dark background without losing detail. Because Henna couldn't make it I'd packed the green bella and the tim-burton costume just in case we had time for a third look (so we could two choices) but we didn't have time.

And we did standard shots and shots from above with me in the gold-fixer-upper and new Wandering Falcon veil and then moved on to "crazy camera fun time" like the first session two years ago when we backlit me and used blue lights (the shot that got my my IAMED top 50 status). This time it was...WINDMACHINE! But not just wind machine and fast shutter speed. We did longer exposures with wind machine on hair and veil but with my face and body stock-still so it would blur whatever was moving the fastest but pick up detail in my face and where I held the veil tight.

The wind machine took off a fake eyelash at one point. Every once in a while I or a photographer would have to shout "hairboy!" and a photographer who wasn't working would run out to remove hair from in front of my face (or in my mouth) without me changing position. We had to stop occasionally so I could mop up the wind tears flowing from my eyes when the machine was pointing RIGHT at my face...but the pictures I saw were worth it. The wind machine shots took as much time as a whole costume but were damned stunning.

They also asked for "that helicopter thing" with the veil (barrel turns) and "the jingle jangle things again!" (zills)

And Tim was great about explaining to the boys how these shots might not be right for all types of dancers they'll work with (because dancers aren't usually working with windmachines) but that he feels this impulse was dead on with me because "When we see Ozma dance what registers isnt' sharp lines and poses, what registers is the movement and this shows movement." He also talked a bit to them (as I was doing make-up) about why I'm the belly dancer they keep asking back. I guess they've shot some bellydancers that they didn't feel great about the results and process. Tim explained how I am always picking music for shots so we can get the right quality of movement and mood. This means sometimes I'm hoping up and changing music suddenly, but it's worth it. It seems some of the dancers didn't bring their own music and just ran through poses, which totally boggles me. I do go through poses but I dance through those poses.

Then, with 30 minutes to go I changed into the peacock costume, grabbed the new Akai Silks veil, and we shot some lovely pictures of that before rush packing everything up.

I was dead tired but I dropped off stuff at home, tossed the peacock costume and veil into my gigbag, burned a laid-back set, and went to Acyra. I didn't know if I had it in me but I danced well, got tips, and stayed and ate with a friend of the staff (a woman who'd lived in San Fran and her movie video-making friend) who told me "It was so beautiful sometime I wanted to cry!" Ancyra is the place where I do stay and eat and talk...and where the waitress confirmed the staff makes twice as much food for me because they want to show me how much they like me....no matter how much I beg for "a small amount PLEASE!...but after a photoshoot day? Oooooh I ate and ate.