Style Me Easter by Marie Labbancz for Beautiful Blooms

Happy to say that I did my first photo shoot at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center the amazing photographer Marie Labbancz, and it wasn't long before the lovely Easter-inspired photos were featured on Style Me Pretty.  Styling and floral by Maya and team from Beautiful Blooms and very chic hair by Claudia Seyler.  Adorable cake courtesy of Whipped Bakeshop.  Pretty paper by Loveleigh Invitiations. We also did beauty shots for our delicately gorgeous models, Stephanie and Jamie and the results speak for themselves.  Truth be told, it was rather chilly that afternoon and both women were troopers.

You can see the full spread on Style Me Pretty....

Shoot at The Queen, Wilmington

I've been lucky to be involved in a some special photo shoots lately, at locations that were delightfully new to me.  Case in point: my day with photographer Laura Novak, Beka and Kimberly of Styled Creative, and others to highlight the beautiful bone structure of a grand and revitalized theater in Wilmington, DE, The Queen.  And I was thrilled that hairstylist Mike Rossmark was able to join us at the last minute.

All of the drama and textures of this unique venue make it an amazing backdrop for a wedding!  You can see more of these photos on Laura Novak's blog.

Full credit goes to:

Photography: Laura Novak and Jason Thomas

Stylists: Styled Creative

Makeup: moi Hair: Michael Rossmark Gowns: Jennifer's Bridal Accessories: Houppette Venue: Live at the Queen

Beautiful Bride: Jaclyn Gesualdi by Tyler Boye

What a way to end 2010!  I was anticipating great things for my New Year's Eve wedding for the lovely Jaclyn Gesualdi.  Gorgeous woman and equally beautiful mother and sister.  What could make it better?  Photographed by the amazing Tyler Boye. This photo of Jaclyn, her charming mother Angela and stunning sister Christina will figure prominently on my "mothers and daughters" page on my site:

So many of the photos Tyler took have a dance-like quality....almost like a ballet....

Jaclyn and her dashing fiance Neville recalled a young Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis...

Lucky Neville's family is Zoroastrian (the ancient Iranian religion) and I was happy to tell his sweet mother that I had studied her tradition in grad school - but that's a whole other blog...

More of my favorites - and I had far too many to choose from... Happy New Year indeed!

Shoot with Jenna Stamm: Pretty Macabre

Funny how these test shoots come about.  First, I have an urge to do a doll-like face - photographer Jenna Stamm, as usual, is up for it. Next, I meet Marilyn Cohen, who creates unique, statement jewelry from all sorts of vintage pieces (and is ensconsed at the Van Cleve Collection every weekend).  She is willing to loan us some of her stuff.

I find myself in a Goodwill store in Amsterdam, NY (if you know where that is, you get a special prize) and purchase a velvet jacket with organza inserts.  Although it probably came from an unfortunate two-piece outfit that got up and went to a prom, it will work rather perfectly for my vision.

Mike Rossmark is in for hair....hooray!

Finally, we take on the macabre (love the word so much I'm using it twice) and spectacular work of Beth Beverly of Diamond Tooth Taxidermy.

The best part was that our original model for the shoot didn't show up.  But M.G. at Reinhard Agency came to the rescue and in walked the perfectly beautiful creature, Priscilla, who couldn't have been better if we built her from scratch.

Here's what we came up with ....

 

Shoot for Hush Salon Philadelphia

I've raved about Hush Salon before on this blog....see my 2009 post.  Carlos and his wife Adrienne just get the whole hair thing perfectly right, and they have a talented team of stylists to show for it. Carlos wanted some new shots for the salon, and of course I jumped at the chance to help out.  He manipulated Gosia's versatile cropped cut a bazillion different ways (a look I'd love for myself, but unfortunately, I have crazy hair on fire).   See more shots here on the Hush site.

Photo by the fearsome, dog-loving and Ducati-riding  Robert Little.

My photo published in the New York Times: do I keep my day job?

Wedding photographers beware: apparently the New York Times found my photography skills acceptable and agreed to publish my work.

Okay, here's what really happened in New York City in February of 2003: I took a picture of Alison after she came to see me for her trial run, and she liked it so much that she submitted it with her engagement notice.

Here's the original:

 

If any of you photographers want the details on my equipment and lighting technique (!) ... let me know.... 

Style Me Pretty Creative

Talk about an adorable pre-holiday spread! Beka and Kimberly of Styled Creative asked if I would do the make-up for a shoot at Trust with photographer Alison Conklin, starring the sparkly Dallas Shaw, a talented fashion illustrator and Ms. Beans (see pink tutu).   Delectable baked goods by Brown Betty (get a load of that polka dot cake...wow!).  Hair by the wonderful Amanda D'Andrea.  Paper embellishments by Two Paper Dolls.  The folks at Style Me Pretty thought the shoot was.....well....pretty. I've posted some of my favorites below.  Go here to see the full pictorial on SMP - it's delicious!

 

Brilliant Bride: Carrie Ann Theisen

 Most of the brides that I work with are looking for a classic, natural look.  But then, most brides I work with are not Carrie Ann Theisen, the beautiful Ph.D. candidate who wafted into my studio one fine day...

The first time that I was contacted by Carrie, who was referred by friend and photographer Jenna Stamm, we determined that I wouldn't be available because of another wedding I was doing earlier on that October day.    She contacted me again a few months later, asking if I could teach her how to do her own make-up for the wedding (Saints, preserve us!), and she also mentioned that her ceremony time had changed.  Hallelujah! I could now make it to Bechtelsville in time to save her from herself.  And I was so thrilled to be working with Jenna again, who was the perfect photographer for Carrie; quirky with an edge, and an eye for all of the rustic and whimsical details that made this wedding the stuff of editorial spreads.   

Carrie, a tall, waifish beauty, is also a talented cognitive scientist who earned her doctorate from the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh.  Her dissertation was on "arbitrariness and systematicity in emergent communication systems" (Light reading?  I think not....).   She is a master of the German language and has studied Japanese, and was the recipient of a prestigious Marshall Scholarship to study in UK, an award that's given to only 40 graduate students yearly.  Now that's what I call a "brilliant bride."

So... back to more weighty things.  On the day of her trial run, Carrie explained that she wanted to look ethereal, and that she wanted tons of clumpy....yes, "clumpy"....lashes.  She also wanted a nude, matte lip.  Bringing her unconventional hopes and dreams to reality was a blast for me.  I combined a purple-based neutral  (Jane Iredale Taupe) and gunmetal (MAC Club) shadows with diffused black liner to produce her wide-eyed bohemian look, then added the boatload of mascara and long, spikey false lashes required to achieve the desired clumpiness.  The nude matte lip was courtesy of Jane Iredale Lip Fixation in Craving - just perfect and I color I have a hard time keeping in stock.  Cheeks to match using MAC Lilicent Cream Blush.
 
The drive to Bechtelsville on that October day was spectacular - I only wish that I'd had more time to explore, but Carrie's wedding was #2 of my three-wedding-in-one-day extravaganza, so no luck with the antiquing, etc.  The wedding was held at Carrie and fiance Jeremiah's home in the middle of the woods.  The early fall sun filtering through the trees was magical. 
 

 

My favorite wedding ceremony shot of all time, because of the very well-behaved "Best Dog."

And of course, my favorite of the lot:

 
 Thank you, Jenna Stamm, for introducing me to Carrie, and thank you, Carrie, for letting me be a part of your charming, woodland fantasy wedding!

In the Spirit of Healing

I worked with delightful and talented photographer Sas Becker on a photo shoot for Holy Spirit Hospital this summer. The photos were for a campaign to promote cancer care at their facility in Harrisburg. The first session was with Judi, a breast cancer survivor well on the mend, and her little nephew Jordan. I think she really enjoyed having some lashes and eyebrows again, even if only for the day.

I met James at the second shoot. Even though the exterior did say "military man" and "black belt in judo," he was really very good-natured about having make-up applied.

I'm grateful to Sas for giving me an opportunity to meet these very brave and special people.

Jenna Stamm and the Pit Crew...

I've had the good fortune to work with photographer Jenna Stamm several times, and I'm always impressed with how seriously she approaches shoots (all the while being very wry and adorable). Lots of planning, a well-conceived idea...such a pleasure. Here's my favorite shot:

Model is Ericka from Reinhardt (just caught her on QVC's Fashion Week extravaganza), hair by Michael Rossmark, styling by Delicious Boutique. To see Jenna's full post and more pics, go here.

Styled Creative: very cool, very pretty

I'm fairly mad for these photos of Beka Rendell and Kimberly Fink, taken by Mike Smith of Ash Imagery. Beka and Kim, formerly known as Innove Events, recently introduced their updated name/site, along with a new space on Arch Street in Old City. These talented creatures are way too cute together, yes?Visit them at www.styledcreative.com.

Let me tell you, aside from being remarkably photogenic, that Beka can wear some lashes, and it was particularly fun to do dramatic, deep blue/black eyes on Kimberly, who is usually so fresh-faced and adorable.

Megan Kristel and I just got "Ashed" as well. Mike put up with our irreverent banter long enough to get a photo for our upcoming press release in relation to the opening of our new studio in Ardmore on September 23rd. Go here for more info and to RSVP.

Society of Professional Women know what not to wear to work...

I'm a big fan of TLC's "What Not to Wear." So when Eileen Connelly-Robbins and team from the Main Line Chamber of Commerce's Society of Professional Women suggested doing an event patterned after the hit makeover show, instead of looking at them funny, dear friend and image consultant Megan Kristel (kristelclosets.com) and I said "okay." Thus began the months of work it took to coordinate the event that was held on May 13th at the Radisson Valley Forge. Job One was to round out the make-over team by finding our Nick Arrojo in the dashing hair stylist Vann Ou from Bubbles Salon. The moment I walked into the joint, I could tell that Vann, who manages Bubbles in Bryn Mawr and now in Rittenhouse Square, was the "Nick" we were looking for...

The entire event, from "before" to "after," was chronicled by David Campli (Campli Photography) and Dave Williams (MediaWave Productions). David C. told the story in photographs, and Dave W. produced the three videos you see below. (Fun Fact: I did the voice-overs for the videos, and also contributed one of my original songs - from another life - for the background music).

The SPW team (special thanks to Ashley Miller) identified our three make-over winners, all Chamber members and either self-nominated or nominated by friends or colleagues:

- Susan Graham is a Marketing Manager for Bryn Mawr Hospital, and the mother of two little kiddles. In light of her work and personal load, she has a remarkably good sense of humor...

- Paula Kielich is the President of Pals for Life, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing companion animal programs to the handicapped, elderly and mentally-impaired. A feisty little lady with beautiful eyes and skin...

- Lori O'Leary is the Executive Director of MusicWorks, a music therapy program started by her husband, musician and therapist Jerry O'Leary. She is the dearest person, with the most enviable bone structure...

Megan Kristel, who is very simply the best at what she does, invaded the closets of each winner, found clothes with hidden potential, then took each of the ladies shopping at Elizabeth Maar Boutique in Haverford to find pieces that would pull their looks together - many thanks to owner Nellie and super saleswoman Joyce for their help. The story continued at Bubbles Salon, where Vann and I tag-teamed our new friends into top form:

Susan: [vimeo http://vimeo.com/11622553]

Paula: [vimeo http://vimeo.com/11660851]

Lori: [vimeo http://vimeo.com/11660863]

The event benefited my favorite local charity, Main Line Animal Rescue, and the organization's fearless and inspirational leader Bill Smith talked about their fight to stop puppy mills. I mean, the man got Oprah to pay attention, so enough said. (Fun Fact #2: our little girl cat, Lana Turner, came from MLAR, and it's taking all of my powers of self-control to stop myself from inserting a picture of her here.)

And here are the "afters:"

Call us "crazy," but in spite of the logistical challenges involved, Megan and I agreed that we would actually do this again! Many thanks to all involved...

Will you marry me?

My bride for this upcoming Saturday, Alisha Murray, is a very cool girl.  She's a hairstylist at Bumble & Bumble Salon in New York City, which is a kick, because I used to get my hair done there.   At her trial make-up session, we chatted about my former stylists (Howard, the Scottish guy, who used to say to me "ya got grrrrrreat hair!) and David Velasco, a master colorist who now spends all of his time at his salon in Doylestown, PA.   Velasco saved me from another colorist who turned my hair acid orange, and I'm not kidding. So, this cool girl, Alisha, is even cooler because of how she was proposed to by her fiancé Mike, that is, on national television, on New Year's Eve 2008.  It was seen up on the giant screen, apparently.  How romantic and embarrassing, all at the same time!   And memorialized for the world on YouTube - even better...

alisha2

alisha2