[LookBook] Oct'13... Studio

I know, I know. We're well into November and  we've only JUST posted October's LookBook's content. Our excuse? I could assure you though, we both have legit reasons; we're both equally busy as heck with uni/college work! Fortunately, we found an opportunity last month when one of Matthew's assignments was to produce two low-key and two hi-key studio images. 

The outfits I have choosen were simple, but mostly because I wasn't entirely sure what my photographer wanted because he changed his ideas a lot- men! In the end, I just took whatever the heck I felt that would meet the middle. Basically, I picked items that would contrast the background. 

We were especially impressed with how well the butterfly camisole dress showed up in the white background- the colours on the butterfly print played as a good accent to the photo as a whole.

For the black background, the idea was to give a ghost-like mood, with a lot of desaturation to the original photo- this is a very Matt-thing, rather different from how I would approach my own photos when editing. 

The outfit for this background coincidently reminded me of the painting "The Black Mirror" by William Nicholson, that I have been studying for my project in uni.... but all the same really, its all about contrast for us. We also played with my new hat and using it to create some shadowed effect. 

I did indeed retouched my skin in all these photos because I can get quite self-concious about how my skin looks, especially when I haven't been having any good-skin-days lately due to lack of sleep, a very poor diet and lots of stress (and mental breakdowns- har har). More on that later in another post of my new skin-care routine. Regardless, the original photos are (always) on Matt's page.

Look 1:

 

Camisole dress- Topshop

Cut-Out boots- New Look

Look 2:

Dress- H&M

Hat - H&M

Necklace- Dior

Bracelet- Tiffany&Co

[LookBook] Sept'13...Portobello Beach

The idea of lookbooks nowadays isn't just because of the "look" or style of clothing people pay attention to; it is also about the photography. With this concept in mind, I teamed up with friend and photographer-to-be, Matthew Chan to create a lookbook that is not only for me to "show off" my personal style tastes, but also create images that emphasises the look from a photographer's point of view. Of course, with the both of us still at the learning stages in the areas we want to specialise in our careers, we also look at this lookbook concept as a sort of shared learning journal or log-book... 

Thus, I now welcome you to the first monthly instalment of our lookbook! (haha!)

For September, Matthew chose the location, Portobello beach which is at our hometown, Edinburgh. I believe the idea of the first few images was to show a "depth of field" (photography terms, in which I am almost as clueless as he is in sewing). I do want to note that the photos here have been edited by me to show how I see the photos should be on my own blog but the directioning etc was all Matthew's. 

My look in September can be described as grungy (if you must), but lately, my wardrobe has been a bit grey and monochromatic... I can't really justify most of the time why I have picked out the outfits I wear. Sometimes, they have a functional purpose, sometimes it's for comfort and other times it is purely because I wake up with this outfit in my mind. Nevertheless, I wear what I feel, and yes, sometimes they follow trends, sometimes they don't, but what does it matter when it is a lookbook that has no specific constraints other than it being my personal preferences at the time? Perhaps over a period of time, and after several more looks, I will begin to find the identity of my style, but at the moment, the freedom to explore still remains... 

Ankle Boots from H&M
Bag from Chronic Pinkoholic

Scarf belongs to Matthew, from a random shop (that sells incense apparently...!)

Hat, Coat and Knee-high socks from H&M
Dress from Forever 21

Loafers from H&M

Bracelets from New Look

Be sure to check out Matthew's own page of his work at:  https://www.facebook.com/MatthewChanPhotography

And if you like the look, please HYPE it on:

http://www.lookbook.nu/soapytofu