Well, I’ve been meaning to share a full “Style Studio”/”Look of the Week” post for some time now. So, here’s one that I took early this month. And, as always, here are my style and photography notes from the series -
Style Notes:
- Long-sleeved fitted grey shirt – From Supré; Got it on sale a few weeks ago. Loved the fit so much, I ended up buying in one light blue as well.
- Black velvet jacket – This one’s a really old piece of clothing. I don’t even know where I bought it. I think I was still living in Singapore when I purchased it. It used to be part of a two-piece suit (jacket + pencil skirt). However, I’ve stopped using the skirt.
- Printed dress – The label says “Ms Who?” It’s one of those dresses that I bought from a children’s clothes shop. Got it for about AU$10. The thing is, I keep wondering when I’d bump in to a ten year old wearing the same thing. Heh.
- Black loop belt – Another hand-me-down from my sis.
- Black stockings
- Wittner stiletto booties – One of the few stiletto shoes I own. I love the shape, but for some reason, I haven’t really taken to wearing them. Haven’t broken them in yet properly, so they’re still a bit uncomfortable. But, I must say, looking at these photos, I am beginning to get convinced why stilettos may be a good way to go.
Where To: Off to my part-time work as part of the Resource Team in an organisation that support people with intellectual disabilities.
Photography Notes:
I must confess that I felt quite happy with this series of self-portraits. They’re not technically great photos, but I like them anyway. Something about the lighting and the composition really appealed to me.
I especially like the top photo in the collage. It was sort of an accidental shot, as I was actually trying to use the fireplace area as my backdrop. But, I couldn’t quite get “the shot”. You know, that one photo that help me to tell what I want to say in pictures.
When I moved to a different wall to try some extra shots, I found that the floor lamp lighting in that area created a different visual effect in the shots. That’s why I ended up liking more photos from my “extra” pics (3 out of the 4 shots in the collage are from the extras; I even have a couple more I wish I could share some time). I even liked the effect of the huge floor vase in the top photo.
So, I hope you like them too! Anyway, here are my photo notes -
- Camera: Nikon D40x
- Lens: Sigma 30mm f1.4
- Lighting: Combination of natural light and indoor artificial light (a ceiling light and a floor lamp); No flash
- Self-portrait strategy: Remote control!
- Post-processing: Some iPhoto tweaks – a bit of straightening, some adjustment in saturation, sharpening, and some cropping (for a couple of the pics). The collage was created using Gimp.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Kari 09.23.09 at 10:08 pm
Wow Shai! Look at you! I love the bangs, the dress, the stilettos, the whole thing! The composition is very appealing with the red and yellow tones. Well done!
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Maxwell 09.26.09 at 2:00 pm
Nice photos. You are looking stunning!!
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Shai Coggins 09.28.09 at 9:06 pm
Aww… thanks so much, Kari and Maxwell. Really nice of you to say. I did enjoy this particular photo shoot/series. It was definitely pleasant surprise. Thanks again!
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