MY KPW Photo Shoot - No. 5, A Morning Shoot

The girls of Studio Nouveau, Lara and Kate, are a pleasure to work with and are quite a dynamic duo! Their fun love for fashion really makes for some incredible and artistic shots and it definitely shows in their work. (And as a model who's not necessarily comfortable in front of the camera, Lara and Kate made her feel totally at ease.)

Time of Shoot: 11:00am
Bride: Liz
Hair: Hair that Moves - Lena Hartford
Makeup: Joya beauty - Joanne McDonough
Photographer: Studio Nouveau
Dress and Accessories: Occasions Bridal and Tuxedos
Flowers: Apotheca Flower Shoppe
Location: Prescott Park in Portsmouth, NH


What was your inspiration behind the shoot?

Kate and I swoon over Vanity Fair and Vogue. We both have a passion for fashion and I think that comes through in our photography. We're also both uber romantics; we view weddings as fairy tales and try and create imagery that illustrates that. We both went to art school, and studied not only photography, but painting, sculpture, etc. So, I think that really helps shape the way we look through the camera. It's not just a flat plane for us - we want the photo to leap off the page at you!


Why did you choose the particular locations that were in the photos like the tree and the exterior of the house?

We love environments! From architecture to trees and shrubs, we try hard to work with what's around us rather than fight it, so we're all about things like shingles and unusual trees that create interesting shapes and angles. We find the juxtaposition of a beautiful bride against things like old graffiti walls or worn shingled siding inspiring!

What were some of your favorite photos from the shoot?

The photos of Liz in the tree are TO DIE FOR! We had the most marvelous light under the tree, and to put someone so sweet and little like Liz in this large old tree creates such a narrative. She looks like a little flower. We also love Liz agains that incredible blue stage wall with the harsh sun; she's right out of a fashion mag! So glamorous.

my KPW Photo Shoot - No. 3, Getting Ready (take two)

Sue was such a beautiful bride to work with, and as you can see, her smile is contagious! It was so much fun watching her turn into a total evening diva.

Time of Shoot: 4:30pm
Bride: Sue
Hair: Hair that Moves - Lena Hartford
Makeup: Joya beauty - Joanne McDonough
Photographer: Brea McDonald Photography
Dress and Accessories: Occasions Bridal and Tuxedos
Flowers: Apotheca Flower Shoppe
Location: Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH


Sue's photo shoot took place at 4:30 in the evening to represent a look for a night wedding. The hair and makeup team wanted to give Sue a more formal, polished look to take here into the later hours.

Here's how Joanne from Joya beauty started the look...

Sue's look needed to be more dramatic since she is representing a bride getting married in the evening. This look can support high intensity and a smokey eye looks fabulous in candlelight.

I started with the new "Dolce & Gabbana, The Makeup" quad of color...Ice and Smoke. I took black eyeliner, of course, and smudged it into the inner lash line for a sultry look.

Sue's base was airbrushed for a flawless finish and dusted with a custom mineral finishing powder to set. Contour and highlights look great in evening light. Don't be afraid of bronzer to create definition and a stronger high color on the cheeks. Anything less would wash out and appear faded in photos.

Sue's lip color is also a Joya custom color that I call "Material Girl"...a beautiful deep, rosy pink with just the right amount of blue to make those teeth sparkle in the candlelight.

Now Sue is ready to sit down with Lena from Hair that Moves...

Sue has long healthy hair with bangs, and she requested that I keep her bangs down which is very popular right now. So I wanted to show brides that you can create a very formal look without having to pin back the bangs.

Without using a hair iron, I first smoothed any fly-aways with product. Then to create a bit of volume at the crown, I pulled back a section of her hair then pushed up slightly to create the height and secured it with pins.

Next, I wanted to incorporate a braid into her look since it's quite popular right now. So what I did was braid a little section of hair from underneath and wrapped the braid around her crown to create a classic, formal look.

Once the braid was done, I criss-crossed sections of hair and created a looped affect securing each of the sections with pins. And when creating a more formal look, it's really important to make sure the style is secure and smooth to give the hair a shiny, finished look.

To finish Sue's look, a head piece and veil were used to accentuate her hair style.

My KPW Photo Shoot - No. 2, The Story Behind the Photography

Spending a day with Liesl from Claris Photography is no ordinary day. Her ability to find unique locations and capture elegant moments is amazing and quite an art form (her sense of humor is also one-of-a-kind)!

Time of Shoot: 2:00pm
Bride: Kate
Hair: Hair that Moves - Lena Hartford
Makeup: Joya beauty - Joanne McDonough
Photographer: Claris Photography
Accessories: Occasions Bridal and Tuxedos
Flowers: Apotheca Flower Shoppe
Location: selected urban areas in Portsmouth

Liesl shares with us some of her thoughts around the shoot and particular shots...

As I do with all of my shoots, I usually have an image or images in my head way in advance of what I visualize. I wanted to have a more Urban/City type feel for my images and pictured locations in Portsmouth that I hoped to find. Typically, I have this type of thing already "scouted" and planned, but this time the fun was actually in walking the city blocks in search of hidden gems. The model I had was also an adventurous type of person and I knew she would be up for a challenge. A couple of times I would have her wait a few moments while I scoured the streets to come back for her...but working in this "in the moment" style brought a few challenges; ultimately it felt free and allowed for much creativity on both of our parts.

For this shot, I chose the dramatic angle because it is powerful yet feminine. Often I try shooting objects in a manor that people don't usually see them everyday which I feel adds interest and makes one look again and say "what is that?". Adding a person into this type of shot just gives it personality.

We kept finding ourselves in the "entrances" of strangers' apartments. In this shot, this amazing den-like entrance added shape and with her arms mimicking this outline it allowed her body to be soft and graceful.

I try to view a posture from all angles and created this shot from inside the den, which changed the look with very dramatic lighting. And of course we seemed to get caught EVERY time as we were greeted by the owner of the apartment trying to get in the door...oh well!

I have always loved the look of femininity in a rough surrounding. The contrast is very interesting to me so I loved the location here - and it was fun to watch the model trying to avoid getting hit by oncoming traffic :) It would have been easier without the 5 inch heels but at least we know that for next time!

I was trying to forget I was still in NH so I pretended we were in France.

In these two shots, Kate was looking at me like "you're the photographer,why didn't YOU bring the quarters?!" So I thought you should all know she can be tough sometimes when she gets all done up (we really love her though!).

The flowers are amazingly beautiful on one's wedding day!

And this one is just amazing!




Since all of Liesl's photos are absolutely incredible, we can't resist showing even more!