Have you ever created something, whether it was something you wrote, drew, painted, anything... and you just never felt like it was complete? Like it was missing something? I have been holding onto this shoot for just over a year now, because of that feeling. I felt as though it was somehow incomplete. And I think I've come to realize that I felt this way because this shoot was close to my soul, unlike so many other simple blog shoots that I do to just promote a product. This shoot meant something to me.
I had been feeling inspired to do a concept like this for quite some time, but never put it into action because I was afraid that the result wouldn't live up to the expectation in my mind. It wasn't until some other creatives encouraged me, that I finally had the guts to just go for it. I considered having someone else model the concept, but an artistic friend of mine encouraged me to do it myself since the concept and purpose was so important to me. The reason why I keep saying it was so special is because this shoot was the turning point for me. It was when I decided to not be afraid to let my weird creative side out, when I finally began to push myself to think outside of the box, and to let myself be led by passion and an artistic soul. I was over the idea that I had to stick to this particular "fashion blogger" look. The whole point of my blog was to stay away from that! Hence the name! To do what I wanted to do.
Not only is this shoot special to me because of the meaning behind it, but also because of the work that was put into it! My sister helped bring the vision to life by making the headpiece for me, and as for the outfit, I had the hardest time trying to figure out what to wear, until several days before the shoot, I had a dream about what the outfit should look like. We cut out a black caged looking slip from one of the layers of an old dress, and then attached the long black fabric to it to make a bustle and train. I actually really love that the skirt looked like a cage to represent the bird being in a cage. The second dress I wore was a blue mermaid shaped dress that I spray painted black to give it an eerie look. Making the clothing for the shoot was part of the fun, it made it feel all the more creative and accomplishing.
I chose to bring two photographers, with two very different styles of shooting and editing onto this shoot. I wanted to see how each of them interpreted it. I love how someone can be shooting the same exact thing as someone else, but it looks totally different because of how their creative eye sees it. The 3rd and 4th picture you'll see as you scroll down, were both taken at the same exact time. Kelsey had a vision to shoot dead on through the fabric, and while she did that, Nick saw an opportune shot from a different perspective. Both shots, same moment, same setting, same everything, but yet so different. Interpretation is one of the many beautiful things about artistry.
So after holding onto this for months and months, I decided it's finally time to release it. This is where I began to spread my wings, and let my creative side take flight. Blackbird fly.
Photos x Nick Ostlund & Kelsey Marie Photo
Makeup x Edipel Ramsdell