Raw Beauty

Well Adamo de Pax has done it again!  Less than a wk after I put up the last story from him he already finished the next story we did that epic photo shoot day!  I LOVE how much variety we are getting all out of one shoot day...seriously it's insane!  Every story is so completely different from the other you wouldn't even know they were all shot on the same day and it's so exciting waiting to see what Adamo is going to do next!   I should probably stop bragging about him so much...soon everyone is going to want to shoot w/ him and I won't even get a chance lol ;)

I really wish I could show you the one story that we are still trying to shop around to get picked up by a magazine b/c it's seriously gorgeous...and like I said before so different from everything else!  It really is amazing how much range and variety you can get out of 4 models that all started w/ the exact same look.  Yes, I know I keep repeating it but seriously it's crazy lol!

The last story w/ Sarah was very clean and fresh and this one w/ Bea is so different from that in every way.  It's raw and edgy and I really really like it!  Bea was really great at emoting that raw sexuality and vulnerability we were looking for w/ this one and she's barely recognizable from the clean face original pic.  Yes the makeup is still really clean here but it's amazing what just changing the lighting, switching a pic to B&W and messing w/ one's hair can do to an image.  Hope you like!

Clean Beauty With A Pop of Colour!

Remember that amazing shoot I did a couple of mths back w/ that amazing, hot, new photographer Adamo de Pax.  Yes, the one where we did 5 Beauty Stories w/ 4 girls and it was the most productive shoot EVER!  Well I now have in my possession the next series of pics from this shoot!  I've shown you guys the complete Clean Beauty pics w/ all 4 models...I've also seen another set of pics from the series that I can't release yet b/c we're hoping they get picked up somewhere.  So now this is the 3rd series of 5 from the shoot...seriously it's like the gift that keeps on giving mths after it's done lol!

This was actually the first model of the day Sarah (Elite).  Sarah is So Fresh and So Young!  Really energetic and enthusiastic about everything.  Sometimes it's fun to work w/ new models b/c everything just makes them so happy b/c they haven't gotten jaded or bored of the industry yet lol.  Sarah had beautiful, soft features...very young and very innocent looking.  She also had very full, pillowy lips that I knew would be fun to play around w/.  For her "story" I wanted to keep the basic clean face look w/ the same high bun and just play around w/ her lips b/c they were so perfect and just calling out for pops of colour!  I pretty much exclusively used my OCC Lip Tars for this one...I just thought why not - they give great colour and in all honesty I don't actually use them that much.

I think this story is also a great example of the fact that you can still keep something really clean but still play around w/ it a bit and have fun!  Just b/c I'm giving her a strong lip doesn't mean I have to suddenly go in and start doing more to the rest of her face.  It looks really fresh and clean and a little more interesting to just give that one little tweak in every picture.  IMO this is still pretty much clean beauty...just clean beauty w/ an "edge" ;)

So here's the rest of the Sarah story - hope you Enjoy!

This pic and the 3rd pic are my FAVS from this story!

 LOVE This One! 

Wanderlust - Another Video Editorial for Lilogi.com

You'll remember about a wk and a half ago I brought you some amazing behind the scenes pics of my latest venture w/ the AMAZING people at Lilogi for their Gypset Themed Week on their site.  Well the latest video editorial is out and I LOVE IT!  I really think we are hitting our groove as a team and our work is only going to get better and better (hopefully I still get brought back for videos as they are so much fun to work on).

I just LOVE how quick the turn around time is for these videos...it's always SO PAINFUL waiting mths for an editorial to come out when you're just so pumped about it and want to share it w/ the world right away! Also can I just say I actually wish the video was longer b/c I just enjoy watching it so much...it's like a little pretty moving piece of art.  Plus it's a great song choice to go along w/ the whole thing!

So anyway, I'm not going to keep you guys waiting either...w/out further adieu here's WANDERLUST!

Wanderlust from Renee Rodenkirchen on Vimeo.

Credits:

Directed by Renée Rodenkirchen

Produced by Lilogi Inc.

Styled by Alexandra Loeb

Model: Émilie at Elite Model Management

Hair & Makeup by Jessica Jean Myers

Production Assistant: Blair McGregor

Music by Skybox – Slipping

Photographs by Renée Rodenkirchen

Gypset - The Glamorous Vagabond

On Tues. I got to head back up to the beautiful & remote area of Picton, ON (or somewhere around there) for another Video Editorial w/ the amazing ppl at Lilogi.  This team is quickly becoming one of my fav teams to work w/.  It's all girls (which is rare in fashion) and we all just mesh so well together and always have such a great time and great working chemistry.

The theme for this video was Gypset, which I'll be honest I didn't even know this term until I was sent the video concept brief before the shoot.  For those of you not in know like me Gypset is a term coined by Julia Chaplin and is described as "an approach to life that fuses the wild and unconventional ethos of a gypsy with the sophistication and speed of the jet set" so basically it's a gypsy who happens to have a lot of money and can live like a glamorous vagabond.  Very cool idea if you can afford it lol.


So Nicole (creator of Lilogi), Blair (assistant) and Renee (videographer) went up early in the day and created all these glamorous and luxurious sets for us out in the middle of nowhere...just gorgeous and so elaborate - really impressive stuff!


The stylist was my good friend Alexandra Loeb and the model was Emilie (Elite) who is actually here from Montreal for the Summer.  Sweetest girl and totally worked for the Gypset theme.  


It was another gorgeous day!  Hot but GORGEOUS!  Seriously, we have been so lucky when we've headed up there the two times.  Emilie was such a trooper too b/c of course we were showing a lot of Fall clothes and things w/ fur...such a professional even in the heat!  And as the day went on she just got more and more into the theme and really transformed herself into the character.  


For the Makeup I wanted something not too clean or perfect, something almost a little slept in.  So I wanted some smoldering eyes w/ big lashes and big eyeliner.  Emilie had big cheekbones which you know I LOVE so you better believe I was taking advantage of that w/ the contour and a pretty strong bronzy cheek.  I kept the lips nude and w/ a gloss.  


For her hair I did a couple of things.  Again nothing too clean or perfect - which is perfect when trekking through the wilderness or shooting outside b/c the messier it gets the better and more organic is looks.  I added A LOT of extensions to Emilie's hair b/c it was thin and not near as long as we needed...yeah for my endless supply of extensions (and Alex's b/c she brought a set too...I used BOTH sets!).  First hair look I did a really messy side fish tail w/ some volume and texture worked through the top and the braid.  For the second hair look I made a Hair Rat (fake hair teased into a ball) to attach to her head to create the volume I needed for the Bridget Bardotesque hair we wanted...thank god for that rat b/c as I mentioned her hair was think I would have been teasing and re-teasing all afternoon w/out it.  W/ it all I had to do was attach it to the head and then tease the hair around it a bit and lay and pin it over the hair rat.  First time I've actually made and used one myself actually!  After I did the pouf I teased all around the hair that wasn't pulled back to give it that very worn/slept in messy hair texture.  If only my hair ever looked that good when I woke up in the morning lol!


In the end it was a LONG day (10 am - Midnight) but so worth it!  Can't wait to see the video which will be coming out on July 22nd (another thing I love about Lilogi is the quick turn around w/ work).  


I of course took a ton of Behind the Scenes pics so ENJOY!

Beginning of the Day!

 Vast greenery we trekked through to 1st location

1st Location - Abandoned, Rusted Car!  How AMAZING is THIS!  Renee's Father stumbled upon it during a walk one day in the middle of nowhere...LITERALLY!

 It has a built in Sun Roof lol!

 Gross Bugs on this plant in the field...like a million of them...EWW!  Don't mind nature, still HATE bugs!

 Look at this Weather!

 Another Touch Up!

 Love this Hat!

 The Living Room...What a Creation!

 Hair Rat!  Would have been better if it was Dark Brown but whatever I made due!

 Hair Rat in Action!

 Ugliest Dress EVER...Seriously, but Emilie made it work!  It's so Ugly it's HOT!

 At First we weren't sure about this outfit then it became one of the FAVS of the Day!

 Love this Shot!

Replenished Hues - YYZ Living Editorial

New Editorial Out!  I'm VERY happy to announce I have a new editorial out...what's even BETTER is that it's actually in PRINT!  Nowadays w/ so many magazines going online or even worse out of business it's a lot harder to get published in magazines that ACTUALLY have a print copy of them available in stores.

A few mths ago I wrote about some behind the scenes stuff for the editorial I was shooting for the Summer issue of YYZ Living and it's FINALLY out and it looks so PRETTY!  About a wk and a half ago YYZ did a big launch party at Ultra's rooftop patio for the Summer issue which was nice b/c not only do I get a new editorial out but I get to go to a party that's featuring my editorial :)

Only thing that was a bit disappointing was originally the story was suppose to be used for the cover as well but last minute it got cut from the cover and another editorial was used :( ...really would have liked to have had a COVER too although I'm not going to lie the image that did use for the cover is stunning as well!  But the story still looks great (although they spelled my name wrong...ugghh not MEYERS...happens so often!)  But nothing I can do about it now so I might as well just enjoy the beautiful editorial and hopefully I'll get a chance to work w/ the magazine again...and maybe do a cover ;)

Here's the editorial...it's not the actually tears w/ the credits b/c I don't have them in PDF format yet but here's the pics they used (and the ones they didn't use that I like...it's funny 2 of the pics they cut are actually 2 of my fav from the story...always the way lol).

REPLENISHED HUES

Photographer: Dexter Quinto

Styling: Nadia Pizzimenti

Creative Director: Annie Lam

Makeup: Jessica Jean MYERS

Hair: Earl Simpson

Model: Ksenia (Elite)

Location: Studio Kaizen

 This is the Opening Image

 I LOVE this Image!

 

 This was the Original Opener...I like it better b/c it features the makeup better...what can you expect I AM a Makeup Artist after all lol!

This was the the image that was going to be used for the cover originally...very pretty so sad it was cut :(

Here's a pic from the launch party - it's me on the right, Dexter in the middle and my friend Svetlana was my  +1 lol...Dexter had just returned from Europe literally the day before I think

So Fresh & So Clean - Now THIS is Clean Beauty! UPDATED

Adamo is back from his wedding (Congrats) and of course like the AMAZING professional he is he went straight back to work and finished editing the one clean beauty shot he couldn't get to before the wedding  - Sarah (Elite). She was actually the first model we shot that day.  She's from Elite and such a pleasure to work w/ - So Fresh, So Soft and So Young!

So here's the finished pic of Sarah!  Stay tuned for other shots from this day b/c there are literally SO MANY!  I will be posting stuff about this epic shoot for mths probably lol!

I'm also posting the other pics again just so you can see everything together in all it's glory!  Plus I just think they look so cool together b/c each girl is so different in her features - some sharper, some softer, different ethnic backgrounds, different hair colours etc. but I just love how the same concept looks so different w/ all these different girls!  They all do their own thing and look gorgeous but each still looks very natural.  Such a skincare ad I swear!  I'm not going to lie my only bit of sadness is that we didn't get any girls w/ darker skin tones...c'est la vie you can only work w/ what the agencies are offering you :(

On my website I have them laid out Alex, Sarah, Andrea, Bea - kind of goes from Light Hair to Dark and I really like it!

So Fresh & So Clean - Now THIS is Clean Beauty!

A couple of wks ago as you remember I did a very productive shoot w/ Adamo de Pax.  The guy is amazing - he's getting married this Sat. in Ottawa and he still took the time to retouch 3 of the Clean Beauty images for me (out of 4...still waiting on Sarah).  Some photographers take mths to even show you the pics (which btw is NOT acceptable) so the fact that Adamo in between planning a wedding took the time to get 3 of these pics done is really nice.

Let me tell you the pictures DO NOT disappoint!  They are everything I wanted out of a Clean Beauty shot.  The model looks gorgeous, like she is just naturally beautiful and glowing.  To the untrained eye they might say what's so great about this picture it doesn't even look like she's wearing ANY makeup and I say EXACTLY!  Seriously, this is Clean Beauty!  Just clean up the model, light foundation and concealing, little mascara, little highlight and contour, lip balm and THAT'S IT!  I wanted the skin dewy and fresh...just like a skin care ad!

Just a side story.  I was doing a second day of shooting w/ Torlys today and the one corporate Torlys guy comes up to me and asks what I did for the male actor Jay b/c he looked so natural.  I said just a bit of moisturizer, green primer to tone down the red and a light dusting of powder foundation and some lip balm and hair pomade - That's It!  He then commented on how before when they had ppl come in to do a video one of their corporate guys that was in the video had a full face on w/ lipstick and everything.

This is not the first time I've heard of this sort of thing for male actors.  I explained to him it was kind of a dated approach and now w/ things being HD and everything you really just want to clean up the actors and make them look natural - you don't want to see the makeup.  Sometimes I feel some artists don't trust their work or skills enough to just let it be natural, it's almost like they HAVE to show that they are necessary and therefore feel the need to make sure it's obvious someone had their makeup done when in reality just doing it really clean and having ppl wonder if the person is wearing makeup is actually a lot more impressive and effective.

Anyway, here are the pics!

Alex (Next)

 Andrea (Next)

 Bea (Elite)

4 Girls + 1 Look = Awesome Shoot!

Last wk I got to work on probably the most productive shoot of my life.  Somehow in the span of a 8 hr day myself, the very talented and young photographer Adamo de Pax and 4 models were able to complete 5 beauty stories...yes that's right 5 stories!  I know you're thinking how is this even possible!

Okay I'll give a little background on the whole thing to start w/.  Adamo is actually a super young and talented photographer that I took notice of awhile ago.  I met him through Dexter Quinto (who I've worked w/ a bunch) as one of Dexter's assistants.  I saw some of his work while he was still in school and I was blown away and I saw a lot of potential there.

Here's a tip for many of you out there.  It's important to find new talent and network w/ them.  Build a team w/ them...it might not be profitable yet but when they start to get jobs they are going to hire ppl they trust and that they've worked w/ before.  It's sometimes hard to break into the inner circle of already established photographers.  The hard thing though is spotting that talent while it's still raw and in development.

Anyway, back to the shoot.  I saw previously that Adamo had some great work but I felt his book was lacking some super clean beauty and this is Toronto where clean beauty is where the $$$ is at.  So I proposed that we do a clean beauty shoot together and get a bunch of models for the day b/c I also needed some new clean beauty b/c mine was old and it's sometimes hard to get photographers to shoot a clean beauty shoot b/c let's be real it's not necessarily the most exciting thing for them.

So Adamo wondered if we were going to do anything else w/ the girls besides the one look.  I then came up w/ a concept that we would do 1 look exactly the same on each of the girls - REALLY clean face (like no makeup/makeup) and I would put their hair into a high ballerina bun using one of those donut foam roll things I had gotten before but never used yet.  From there depending on the girl, her features and style we would then experiment and do a different story tailored to each girl specifically.  So that's how we got 5 stories - the 1 original clean face story and then 4 individual beauty stories for each girl.  We shot each story in 1.5-2 hrs...I'm efficient and Adamo is a very quick shooter which I LOVE.  I sort of hate when photographers over shoot something.

FYI for those that might be confused what the term "story" means when you're working on a shoot you want a cohesive set of pictures that sort of tells a "story" just like in an editorial.  It's not useful to do random shots that don't go together at all b/c it won't make sense in your book therefore you come up w/ concepts that tell a story eg. The clean face story where every girl has the same makeup and hair - but the 4 models themselves are actually very different.

I've already seen the pics Adamo has chosen for the 1st clean face story and they look amazing already so I cannot wait to see them retouched...seriously they look like a skincare ad b/c the 4 girls all have different hair colour, skintone and features.

I'll tell you about the other stories shot that day another time but here's some behind the scenes photos from that day.  Btw Adamo is very excited to officially be part of my blog b/c apparently he's a big fan lol ;)

Sarah (Elite) So young and fresh!

 Bea (Elite) INSANE cheekbones!

 Alex (Next) She was soo sick...I felt bad for her but such professionalism!

 Andrea (Next) We did the craziest stuff w/ her!

Me hard at work...please ignore the GIANT mess of a station...it was the end of the day lol!