This photoshoot was a collaboration between me, hairstylist Jesse Fox, and model Melanie Rose.
Jesse approached me with a desire to create something together and offered to style the hair for the shoot. I was thrilled and immediately agreed because it had been far too long since I last did any creative project, and I was in a creative slump. The idea of incorporating a bird's nest into the hair came to me instantly. I’ve had this idea for a while but was uncertain about how to bring it to life. So this was a great opportunity. We decided to reach out to Melanie to model for us. She was a perfect fit for this concept with her long brown hair, and Jesse and I both had previously worked with her.
Melanie and I traveled to Jesse's studio in New Jersey and captured the photos in his backyard during the sunset in early spring this year. The timing was perfect as I specifically wanted bare branches in the backdrop for this concept.
It took us a while to get to Jesse’s studio so we were quite late. After an hour of hair styling, I had literally 30 minutes left of daylight. My photoshoots are always pretty short as I usually aim to create one final artwork and I have a specific image in mind. But this time I had to be very quick. In 30 minutes I managed to capture a few portraits and film this behind-the-scenes video.
Melanie and I traveled to Jesse's studio in New Jersey and captured the photos in his backyard during the sunset in early spring this year. The timing was perfect as I specifically wanted bare branches in the backdrop for this concept.
It took us a while to get to Jesse’s studio so we were quite late. After an hour of hair styling, I had literally 30 minutes left of daylight. My photoshoots are always pretty short as I usually aim to create one final artwork and I have a specific image in mind. But this time I had to be very quick. In 30 minutes I managed to capture a few portraits and film this behind-the-scenes video.
Camera Nikon Z 7
Lens Helios 40-2 85 mm 1.5 with FTZ mount adapter
Edited with Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom
Using Wacom Intuos Pro, Microsoft Surface and BenQ SW271
Lens Helios 40-2 85 mm 1.5 with FTZ mount adapter
Edited with Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom
Using Wacom Intuos Pro, Microsoft Surface and BenQ SW271
I shot this with my Nikon Z7 and a vintage lens Helios 40 using a FTZ mount adapter. It’s an 85 mm lens with an aperture 1.5 and it’s completely manual. Its old construction, aberrations and flaws create a whimsical and fairytale feel and give my photos a dreamy soft focus.
My editing process consisted of RAW processing and color correction in Lightroom and retouching and compositing in Photoshop. I used stock photos of flying birds and incorporated them into my image. I converted them into smart objects, masked and then applied several different adjustment layers with clipping masks.
Jesse and Melanie did an amazing job, and this photoshoot wouldn't have been possible without them.
Anya
♥
My editing process consisted of RAW processing and color correction in Lightroom and retouching and compositing in Photoshop. I used stock photos of flying birds and incorporated them into my image. I converted them into smart objects, masked and then applied several different adjustment layers with clipping masks.
Jesse and Melanie did an amazing job, and this photoshoot wouldn't have been possible without them.
Anya
♥
