Smoke and Mirrors: Kayla's Senior 1940's shoot

O.k. here we go! For our very first post we thought we would take you behind the scenes and show you how we can create an illusion. We want our pictures to transport you somewhere and at this shoot we wanted to transport you back in time to the 1940's. To a time when women painted their lips deep red and dressed to go out and they carried handbags that matched their shoes. A time when the young woman in the photo could have been having a joyful afternoon with girlfriends or she may be longing to see her dashing yet mysterious young man. Maybe on this misty foggy morning she was headed to a train station in hopes of a long overdue reunion. Wherever your imagination transports you that is where the picture is meant to take you. We hope you enjoy this and we hope you are not sad that we are breaking the illusion. So saddle up partner, here we go...

Now that we have our illustrious backdrop set let me show you the first picture that made the cut. Here's the finished product.

And now a look at the BIG picture...

Next couple of shots to make the cut...by the way, isn't she adorable?

This reminds me, I've got to get my earrings back.

Sit still I have a few more shots to show you. Here is the next one you may remember seeing on Facebook a couple of weeks ago.

Wow! Look out! I think we have a man eater on our hands! So, as you will see in the following pictures this close-up was achieved when Christy stood about 8' feet away from Kayla. This is not cropped or zoomed, this is the actual shot. Side note; all mothers might want to stand 8' feet away from their teenagers. Especially if you drag them outside a mere 45 minutes before they have to go to work, cover them in make up, put a funny hat on them, then make them stand in the drizzle and smile while Auntie stands off to the side shouting directions.

Now hang on to your hats. This is going to blow your mind! She is leaning on....nothing! Ha! Let me tell you, this child has got serious talent.

The above photos were simply taken here...

Now the time has come for me to explain a rather odd term that my sister and I use when we are editing after a shoot. "Killing our Babies" often there are so many that we love that we have a difficult time paring them down and eventually if this process is becoming too long and drawn out one of us will declare, "You've got to kill your babies!" When you are being creative and the ideas are flowing you have to take risks and just see where it goes. These ideas need to be nurtured until they come to fruition. After you've put yourself into them they become like your own little "baby." Sometimes the end results are spectacular and other times they are a major flop. Well, the picture below is a "killed baby". I know this all sounds very dramatic, but we are the dramatic sort.

First of all the hen's outfit totally clashes with Kayla's. She must not have gotten the memo. We thought the juxtaposition of a farm animal in the arms of a pretty 1940's girl would be cool. Our first candidate was a duck who upon closer inspection was way too dirty for a photo shoot so we grabbed this hen. The end result in our eyes was that this did not work!! But we had fun taking the picture. So enjoy the following pictures of Kayla giving the hen a gentle spin to get her to settle her down.

Thanks for dropping by to check out our brand new blog. We sincerely hope you enjoy what we are doing here. Your support means the world to us! Add us to your favorites and feel free to comment below and let us know what you think or if you have ideas for us we would love to hear them.

P.S. Dear Smooch, thanks for being the best guinea pig/model two photographers could ever ask for. We love you! Love, Mommy & Auntie