Art Directors - Sometimes They Just Mess Things Up!

So I'm back from Beijing and I had an amazing time! I'll write more about that in another entry w/ lots of fun pics and all that! Can you believe I head back to Canada in 1.5 wks!!

Anyway, I'm on a bit of a roll right now! Got another editorial out which is cool. Unfortunately, it would have been a lot cooler IMO if the art director would have just taken Todd's original layout he proposed and published that. Sometimes I feel like art directors feel they just need to make it look like they are doing something and therefore they go and change the order of an editorial and overall just make it so much weaker! Like if they just published what the photographer suggested they aren't doing their job or something!? I find this happens a lot in Asia and many of them just don't quite get fashion or styling quite yet...very frustrating. They actually cut my fav. image from the whole editorial. It was suppose to be the opener and again IMO was WAY stronger than the opener they used (it's okay just not opener material IMO). I really wish they would have used the opener Todd suggested as it would have looked great in my book esp. as the opener...or even just published it in the editorial somewhere else. I'm still going to actually get this pic I like printed for my book b/c I just think it's a hot pic.

This was definitely an eye opener for me to realize just how important putting certain pics in a certain order really affects the flow and story of an editorial. When I saw the order that DestinAsian had picked I was kind of thinking...really this is the editorial I was expecting so much more...it's kind of just okay. Then I saw the order/images that Todd suggested and I couldn't believe how much stronger the editorial was just b/c the pics were in a different order...I don't know it just looked so much better. Anyway, here is the editorial. I'm also including the pic they didn't use that I actually really like! Just a reminder you can click on the pics to see them in larger size - or just visit my website :)


Kind of wish this pic and the other B&W pic were in colour just for my book you know...the B&W looks great don't get me wrong it's just you know I'm thinking about me lol!This is the pic Todd and I wanted as the opener! I think it sets the mood so much better...and it shows off my work more ;)

Mini Update - Actually WAY Longer Than Planned Lol!

So I leave for Thailand in 3.5 days (Sunday)!! Getting very excited and luckily enough I'm actually kind of super busy before I leave so at least the time will go by quicker. For the next few days I'm trying to do a raw fruit & veg diet (suggested by spa) as prep for the Detox/Cleanse I'll be doing while in Thailand so that's somewhat interesting but actually not that far removed from what I eat already.

Tomorrow I'm shooting another cover for Drink Magazine. Nothing fancy really but just nice to have a few covers in the portfolio you know.

Speaking of portfolio I'm FINALLY getting my procrastinating ass moving on doing a new website. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a tech tard...seriously! I'm actually impressed w/ myself that I switched hosting/domain companies for my current site lol. I've decided I'm going to go w/ Dripbook and build a site through them which is something they now offer. Their sites look super good (you can choose different colours schemes, layouts etc and change it as often as you want!), are totally affordable and best of all even a tech tard like ME can build and update it apparently!

That's the prob w/ my site now. A girl I use to work w/ built it for me as her final school project and then was suppose to teach me how to update it but she just "disappeared"...it was so odd she wouldn't email me back or return calls. No idea why but it left me w/ an intial site and no way to update it so therefore very quickly useless :( Lots of amazing artists do their sites through Dripbook now too btw like one of my favs - Lottie - so you know it's good ;)

I'm doing an editorial on Sat. night now...I can't remember the mags name at this moment but I'm just happy it's happening before I go. It was all up in the air b/c of the finding a stylist in China issue (surprise, surprise). I thought it might actually be shot while I was gone which made me sad but luckily it got bumped to the night before I leave :)

It's w/ a yummy, foreign male model btw :) Hey, if I'm going to be working a Sat. night at least I'll have some nice eye candy lol! It's so rare that I get to work w/ hot male models so yeah! And it's actually a cool makeup concept for me not just boring male grooming so that's cool. It's inspired by Twilight sort of (don't be jealous Sian Melton lol). We're doing a sort of Vampire at night in Shanghai sort of thing...but not cheesy - fashiony of course. So I'm paling out his complexion a bit and tinting the lips and giving him some structured, high, messy hair alla Robert Pattinson.

Btw apparently DestinAsian really liked the shoot that I did a few wks ago so that's cool and I can't wait to see the pics from that one!

I'll have WiFi at the resort btw so I'll be updating on the Detox/Cleanse!

Another Successful Shoot - WooHoo!

So I made it through my 6 am call time for DestinAsian magazine today. I was so paranoid that I was going to sleep in I was literally waking up every 2 hrs...actually I kind of only took a nap b/c I went to bed at 12 and woke up at 4 but sometimes a 4 hrs nap is so much better than 5-6 hrs you know.

Got to Todd's at 6 and the model was already there which was great! Very nice girl named Fei Fei. Apparently a real up and comer and I'm not surprised I really liked her look and she knew how to pose. Overall, I'm really happy and excited abou this shoot and I can't wait to see the pics, YEAH! Things started out a little shaky b/c I decided after I preped the skin to move to hair and I was doing something completely out of my comfort zone today - Victory Rolls (1940s hairdo). I'm not going to lie it took me a little longer then I wanted and I didn't go w/ the originally style Todd was looking for I modified it a bit but overall I'm happy w/ the outcome (anyone who knows me knows hair is my weak point right now...but I'm working on it!). The main prob I had w/ her hair at first was actually it was just too slippery and clean...it needed to be dirtied up a bit just so it would hold better. Nothing a little wax spray and hairspray couldn't solve.

I actually ended up finishing the makeup at the first location while they set up lights which worked out perfectly. When I think about it I don't think I've ever had an on location editorial move so smoothly or quickly. My focus was bright Spring lips today and I practically had a chance to change the lips for every outfit! I think I altered the lips like 8 out of 10 outfits lol!

So the first location was The Mansion Hotel in the French Concession. Really nice hotel which had a lot of great spots to shoot esp. since the focus was sort of a 1930s/40s French Shanghai feel. Then we did a really cute location shoot on this old school BMW motorcycle and then we went to this restaurant called 1931. There is nothing really crazy to say here - everything went really smooth and easy. After I got the hair under control it was all juicy lips and fun times! Man I wish every editorial went like this lol. I think sometime next wk I'll be shooting another cover for Drink Magazine and around the first I'm pretty sure I'm doing between a 12-20 pg editorial for this Men's Fashion magazine (forgot the name) that is owned by the same ppl as DestinAsian. Yeah male model ;) ...kind of wish it was a girl shoot though...I mean 12-20 pgs! Whatever still good for my male grooming section I suppose lol.

Below are some Behind the Scenes shots...I know how much you guys love them lol!

Me doing my thing...not a sweater but still 3/4 sleeves lol (keeps me warm doesn't get in the makeup)
I know the hair looks ghetto here...don't worry I fixed it and made it fab!
These are all at The Mansion Hotel

Repeat outfit from Fri...there were some new outfits thought too!
Love these Gucci Shoes - The model on Fri. couldn't wear them b/c her ankles were too big. This model had much longer limbs!
Just looking at the last two photos I remembered there was ONE thing that was fucking weird about the last two shoots! I've heard this mentioned before by another foreign photographer in Shanghai but never yet experienced it but both Fri. and today's model obviously don't shave their legs...like at all I think! It wasn't thick hair or even a lot so I guess that's why they "think" it's okay but it was long...like if I didn't shave mine for a mth. Weird...and not acceptable!!! I noticed b/c I usually put some makeup on the knees or bruises and I have this lotion that creates a really nice sheen on the legs that I always use.
It's not easy being a model. That's Todd's finance keeping Fei Fei warm in between shots.
Look at her arms! They are soo long and skinny!
At 1931 Restaurant

Remember Me...Yeah Once In Awhile I Actually Do Makeup For A Living!

So had a really cool shoot today that I'm really excited to see some pics from. The shoot was w/ the consistently fantastic Todd Anthony Tyler of course. He actually shot the shoot two different ways to maximize magazine potential and already has a few magazines interested so that's cool.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but styling is a major bitch here and it's impossible to pull clothes here unless it's for a Chinese magazine...even foreign magazines the stores won't loan out clothes!?! So you have to have a stylist that works for a magazine pull clothes for that magazine and that shoot and the store basically tells you what you're going to style them in..so basically the stylist is NOT really a stylist...just a glorified dresser.

I only mention this b/c these clothes are actually going to be used again for another magazine shoot on Sunday. The DestinAsian shoot I mentioned before. Todd had the stylist pull the clothes this wk and she actually had to go to Beijing this weekend so she's not even going to be at the shoot on Sunday lol (which is honestly better...glorified dresser remember...NO style). So since he had the clothes for a few extra days and they are all top names he thought why not do a couple of other concepts w/ them since we have the opportunity. The Sunday shoot is going to be very commercial editorial anyway so COMPLETELY different and outside for some parts (this was all in studio).

I'll be very interested to see how the pics from this shoot turn out. One style was very blurred and kind of double vision...really cool. The other was more typical commercial editorial w/ some cool shadowing and blue gels. Overall the model was really good and she was a really sweet girl. Actually I worked w/ her last Summer when I was in Shanghai. She recognized me right away and I only recognized her b/c it was one of those "Oh Fuck...Look At That Skin!!!" moments. Yeah I remember that skin last Summer too...still not any better...unfortunately. Great cheekbones though so at least that was good. This shoot I got to be a little more avant garde w/ the makeup and just hair done getting blown around while Sunday will be a lot more classic editorial w/ a focus on the lips and hair up in a high fashion style (that I really hope I can pull off eekk) but it's cool b/c if things go right I could end up w/ at least 3 different mag tears which is always good.

Man I'm going to have a book full of Asians when I get back lol! It can't be helped really...the Asian models are just SO much stronger than the foreign models getting sent to Shanghai right now. The foreign ones just look sort of short and fat in comparison...I know that's harsh but fuck off this is Fashion not Sesame Street. The Asians have really really improved over the last couple of years in China and they are just far superior to the foreigners that happen to get sent over to the Chinese market (mostly b/c it's not a really good money making market as a foreign model...and a lot of the agencies rip the girls off :( )

So yeah below are some behind the scenes shots of the shoot. They are really crappy quality though b/c w/ the lighting set up I couldn't really use my flash during the shoots so they are pretty dark and not that detailed...sorry :(

Me in my "typical" photoshoot uniform - jeans, glasses and 3/4 sleeve v-neck sweater (hey it's a figure flattering neckline, the sleeves don't end up in makeup and it's somewhat prof. looking lol)

Wish me Luck for Sunday!...6 am call time...is that even allowed on a Sunday?!?!

Behind the Scenes - Uma Shoot

Sorry for the lack of updates lately...haven't really felt motivated and well it's been pretty quiet...for EVERYONE (at least I know it's not just me). Nela (Todd's photo assistant) sent me a few Behind the Scenes photos from the disappointing Uma shoot. I thought I'd put them up b/c well...why not lol.

I think the look on Michelle's face pretty much sums things up lol!

Me Doing My Thing...I'm Very Serious Lol!

Yeah Fan Brush

Us Goofing Around A Bit...Notice I'm Wearing Skinny Jeans Tucked Into Boots!!

On a positive note I'm doing an editorial for DestinAsian magazine next wk w/ Todd. They LOVED the cover!?! Like seriously, apparently the owner of the mag sent Todd two emails and mentioned it in both...whatever as long as the client likes it I'm happy. It's weird b/c Todd has done 4 covers for them and he even admits that that was probably his least fav. Just shows you never can tell.

Champagne is my Life

So I did the cover for Drink Magazine today. This is for their second issue. When Todd first told me about the shoot all he said was doing guy makeup for a cover. I got momentarily excited...ooohh maybe hot male model :)... I rarely get to work w/ those!

Unfortunately, that was not the case. The cover "model" was actually the owner of Muse Nightclub...a very funny Asian guy probably in his late 30s or early 40s...you never know how old Asians are lol. But one thing was for sure he definitely was not the male model I was hoping for lol! Whatever it ended up being a fun enough shoot and he had really good energy and was very playful w/ the camera which totally worked for the concept so I actually think it will be a kind of funny cover. The whole concept was him shooting Pierre Jouet Champagne up into the air and biting on the cork like he pulled the cork out w/ his mouth and the champagne was exploding. A little messy and it took some practice w/ cheap champagne but I think we actually got some pretty funny, cool shots! Btw what's w/ me ALWAYS working around champagne?!? We have the Nils' shoot, the Moet events and now this Drink Magazine cover...so weird!

Also I got a couple of couples of DestinAsian Magazine from Todd today. It's actually not that bad in person. I can live w/ it so that's kind of nice.

DestinAsian Cover

Well the new issue of DestinAsian Magazine is out. That's the magazine I did a cover for a few wks ago w/ Todd. I have to be honest...I pretty much hate it. I hate their pic selection and I'm just disappointed w/ it in a lot of ways. Todd did this shoot very last minute and did the retouch very last minute too and I know it's not his job but even he admitted he should have done some more retouch on the flyaways so I find that kind of sucky. I know it's my own fault too b/c I should have been more on top of them but yeah it was a rushed shoot and you do what you can and flyaways still sometimes happen so I just hate that he didn't do his usual great post work b/c he was rushed and leaving for another shoot the next day. Live and learn I suppose.

They ended up going w/ a pic in the bar Cloud 9. It's so typical Chinese they say they don't want anything too modern or featuring too much of the metal architecture and whatnot and what do they do...choose a pic featuring the modern metal architecture. I definitely think the ones in the presidential suite were better. Todd even said he almost didn't even send them this pic as a choice b/c it was one of the last shots in the bar and he didn't think it was working so he didn't even really play w/ this last spot in the bar. I wish he hadn't sent them this pic. Here's the cover below btw. Edit: Apparently I can't show you the cover b/c everytime I upload it there is a blue tinge to everything - mag title, skin etc...don't know what that's about as the pic is fine when I pull it up just on my screen. If you really want to see it you can see a tiny version of it at www.destinasian.com See I figure it knows I hate it therefore it doesn't want to show itself lol.

Inked Photoshoot

So last night Todd and I worked together on a shoot for Inked Magazine. It's based on of NYC and it's a tattoo magazine that also has a cool fashion element to it. Todd has been trying to shoot for them for a long time but it's really hard finding models (or even relatively attractive girls for that matter) in Shanghai w/ tattoos. Back when I was here in the Summer we did a test shoot w/ two twins that had a bunch of tattoos and let's put it this way there was A LOT of dim lighting and smoke being used lol!

Anyway, it was a night shoot w/ two girls. One a fairly well known Asian model named Masson and the other was just a girl that is getting an amazing dragon tattoo all over her back. The prob was the regular girl was okay but no model and next to Mason it showed. I think Todd is just going to push for the Masson pics to be used b/c they are just way stronger and she had tattoos in various locations on her body while the other girl had an amazing piece on her back but how many times for a fashion/editorial shoot can you shoot someone's back and make it look different (and for me it's not like you can really see her face for the makeup even). Also yesterday was Chinese New Year so the study Todd normally works out of is closed for the holidays so we did something different. We did the makeup and hair and my place. Which actually was really nice b/c I didn't have to lug my kit anywhere and they came to me.

The models were real troopers though b/c like I mentioned it was a night shoot and Todd wanted it to be a cityscape shoot too b/c this edition of the mag is suppose to be about travel so he needs to show it's Shanghai. On a normal shoot this would be unpleasant b/c of the unusually cold weather Shanghai has been having the last few days but it was even more so b/c this is a tattoo shoot which means these girls have to have limited clothes at some points. Like the back tattoo basically she's posing outside in jeans, no shirt - holding something to cover her front while he's shooting the back and Masson's biggest tattoo is on her leg so that meant lots of shorts and skirts...and they had to walk to various locations near my place and it was like at least -5C...ouch!

Normally, I like to be there on set while they are shooting but I actually couldn't be there for this one b/c when they were shooting one girl I was getting the other one ready or I had to wait w/ the one girl in my apt. while the other was shooting or wait for the pizza to be delivered (yeah a little dip in detox lol). But Karina, Todd's fiance was on set and she use to model so she knew how to brush hair into place and things like that so I wasn't too worried. I saw the raw pics today and I gotta say I like them a lot, very sexy to me. Plus it's an American mag so that makes me happy. Didn't pay well but I'll mention a cosmetic brand that I was using and get credit for products at least. So can't wait till that comes out! Sorry no behind the scene pics on this one since I wasn't there during the shooting and none were taken while I was doing makeup b/c they were out shooting.

On another note I saw the DestinAsian cover layout and I have to admit I'm not impressed and definitely a bit disappointed. I think the mag just chose a really mediocre and blah pic for their cover. I saw some of the other pics and there were definitely better ones so that's kind of disappointing b/c it's my first cover and I don't even really like it but hey at least it's a cover I suppose.

DestinAsian Magazine Shoot

So a little over a wk ago I did my first cover shoot for this magazine called DestinAsian Magazine. Apparently, it's available all over Asia and you can sometimes even find it in North America which is cool.

The location of the shoot was at The Jin Mao Tower and more specifically in the Grand Hyatt Hotel Presidential Suite (costs approx. 42 000 rmb/night = approx. $6200 USD) and Cloud 9 (the highest bar in the world - 87 floor). I've actually shot in both of these locations before for a very cool shoot I did in the Summer. Until 2007 Jin Mao was the tallest building in the PRC (People's Republic of China) but since 2007 the Shanghai World Financial Center which is next to Jin Mao has claimed that honour.

The Grand Hyatt is actually a pretty cool hotel in that it's circular and from the atrium when you look up it's actually kind of trippy....looking down from one of the top floors makes me dizzy though.



Anyway, back to the shoot. This was overall a really easy shoot. The model Emily is suppose to be a real up and coming model in Asia so let's hope so b/c it really helps the mag (and my work ;) ) get more recognition. She had great skin and really knew her posing so shooting was a breeze in comparison to a lot of shoots in Shanghai. A lot of times the girls will not have good skin (both asian and foreign) and a lot of the foreigner models are brand new and therefore don't know the first thing about posing while a lot of the Asian models just don't get it and lack something in the eyes.

The dress for the shoot was this really pretty purple floral piece by Vivienne Tam. I decided to incorporate the purple palette of the dress into my eye and lip makeup and went w/ a loose, undone side updo as I wanted to capture the romantic and flowy feel of the dress I didn't want anything too structured or tight. I really hope the pictures from this one turn out well! As I mentioned before it's my first cover!

I think the pics from the Presidential Suite were definitely the stronger of the locations so I'm really hoping the mag chooses one of those for their cover. It's so crazy b/c the living room in the suite is probably the size of my apt. lol. The bathroom has it's own sauna which is nice and I think I've seen NYC apts. smaller than the walk in closet lol.

After the shoot we got to have lunch in one of the hotel's restaurants (The Italian Cucina I think) for free - drinks, main, dessert - everything! Definitely a step up from the usual pizza or greasy chinese normally offered on set. Now anyone that's been reading this knows I'm not rolling in the dough so when you offer me a great lunch in a great restaurant you better believe I take full advantage of it lol! The only thing that sucked was Todd was in a hurry b/c he was leaving for Singapore the next day and had a bunch of errands to do after the lunch so we didn't really get a chance to sit and enjoy ourselves all that much. Even in the rushed meal I still managed to fit in the the 3 course lunch they offered and a glass of wine. I had a mushroom soup to start, then a grilled snapper I believe and a chocolate torte for dessert...all very good!

So now I'll leave you w/ some behind the scenes pics from the shoot:

Todd shooting (again on the ground lol)

Touch up Time
Cloud 9 Bar
Presidential Suite
I really liked the feel of these pics on the couch hope one of these is chosen!
These had a cool feel to them too but better suited to an editorial not a cover shot.

Busy, Busy Week!

Very busy week this week! If all my weeks were like this then I'd be a very happy little makeup artist I can tell you that (and a much richer one too ;) lol). Just did an editorial today for a European magazine w/ German photographer Norbert Kniat (I'll be writing a behind the scenes post later). On Thurs I'm doing a very well paying advertising campaign w/ my photographer friend Todd Anthony Tyler and now he just told me that we will shoot a cover for DestinAsian Magazine on Fri. This will be my first official cover so I'm VERY excited about that! I was suppose to have a cover back in the Summer w/ Catalog Magazine (Singapore) but they ended up not using it b/c they didn't like the male model THEY cast uggghhh...hopefully nothing like that will happen on Fri.

Also still waiting on some final confirmation details about my BIG NEWS! It was slow getting started in Shanghai but WOW what a great start to the New Year! Hope it continues!